Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Jun 9;6(2):98.
doi: 10.3390/tropicalmed6020098.

Evolution of Rabies in South America and Inter-Species Dynamics (2009-2018)

Mauro Meske  1 , Angela Fanelli  2 , Felipe Rocha  3 , Lina Awada  1 , Paula Caceres Soto  1 , Neo Mapitse  1 , Paolo Tizzani  1
Affiliations

Evolution of Rabies in South America and Inter-Species Dynamics (2009-2018)

Mauro Meske et al. Trop Med Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Rabies is listed as one of the World Health Organisation's (WHO) Neglected Tropical Diseases Worldwide, with a significant impact in South America. This paper explores the dynamics of rabies cases in humans, pets (dogs and cats), livestock and wildlife (bats in particular) in South America during the period 2009-2018. The data used in this study were derived from the two main databases for rabies in South America: the OIE-WAHIS from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and PANAFTOSA's Regional Information System for the Epidemiological Surveillance of Rabies (SIRVERA). Being a neglected disease with possible underreporting in some areas, the reported rabies cases may not always represent the real disease burden. The analysis focuses on the evolution of the number of cases in time and their spatial distribution, as well as on the main source of infections in humans, determined by laboratory assays of the antigenic variant or through epidemiological investigations. Additionally, Generalised Linear Mixed Models (GLMM) were used to evaluate the risk factors associated with the occurrence of human cases. Our results show that the highest impact of the disease in terms of number of cases was reported on livestock, while the overall number of cases (in animals and humans) progressively decreased along the study period. The spatial distribution of rabies in livestock showed two main clusters in the north-western (mainly Colombia) and in the south-eastern part of the affected area (Brazil), and a third smaller cluster in Peru. A cluster in dogs was observed in Bolivia. Out of the 192 human cases reported during the study period, 70% of them were transmitted by bats. The number of human cases reported during the study period were significantly associated with the number of rabies cases reported in livestock, pets and wildlife. Despite the overall decreasing case report rate, the disease still represents a major animal and public health concern in South America, and new strategies for compiling systematic information, networking and education are needed, as well as the education and training of veterinary staff.

Keywords: Desmodus rotundus; OIE-WAHIS; SIRVERA; dog-mediated rabies; infectious diseases; livestock; rabies; surveillance; vampire bat; veterinary public health; wildlife disease.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Trends for rabies cases in different animal categories during the period 2009–2018 in South American countries. (Source OIE-WAHIS and SIRVERA).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Graph showing the correlation between the number of cases in the different groups of species and over time. The numbers on the right side of the graph represent the correlation coefficient. An asterisk close to the numbers indicates a significant correlation (p < 0.05). Data distribution for each category is represented by mean of bar charts. The relation between a pair of variables is represented on the left side of the graph.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Distribution of the reported rabies cases, represented by dots, for 10 years (2009 to 2018) in livestock (A), pets (B), wildlife other than bats (C), bats (D), and comparison with rabies cases reported in humans represented by orange areas. The distribution of the cases is represented using the “density dot” technique.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) [(accessed on 3 June 2021)]; Available online: https://talk.ictvonline.org/
    1. Belotto A., Leanes L., Schneider M., Tamayo H., Correa E. Overview of rabies in the Americas. Virus Res. 2005;111:5–12. doi: 10.1016/j.virusres.2005.03.006. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Singh R., Singh K.P., Cherian S., Saminathan M., Kapoor S., Reddy G.M., Panda S., Dhama K. Rabies—Epidemiology, pathogenesis, public health concerns and advances in diagnosis and control: A comprehensive review. Veter. Q. 2017;37:212–251. doi: 10.1080/01652176.2017.1343516. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Gilbert A.T. Rabies virus vectors and reservoir species. Rev. Sci. Tech. 2018;37:371–384. doi: 10.20506/rst.37.2.2808. - DOI - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization (WHO) International Health Regulations 2005. 2nd. WHO; Geneva, Switzerland: 2008. [(accessed on 27 May 2021)]. Available online: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241580410.