The growing problem of rabies in Africa

✍ Scribed by Sarah Cleaveland

• Book ID: 104164774
• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1998
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 648 KB
• Volume: 92
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0035-9203
• DOI: 10.1016/s0035-9203(98)90718-0

✦ Synopsis

Although rabies in Africa is relatively insignificant in terms of human mortality, the disease is still relevant because of the high costs of rabies prevention. Over the past 2 decades, demographic, economic and sociopolitical trends in Africa have increasingly favoured the persistence and spread of rabies, while limiting the effectiveness of control measures. Dog rabies predominates throughout most of Africa; the domestic dog is the principal reservoir host as well as the most important source of infection for people. However, wild-life rabies is increasingly a concern, both as a threat to endangered wildlife populations and because of the possible emergence of new maintenance hosts.