Since December, a major field survey has been carried out by CIRAD and the Pasteur Institute to collect information on dogs in Antananarivo, bites, and better target future vaccination campaigns to eradicate the infectious disease.
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With our correspondent in Antananarivo, Sarah Tétaud
Barking echoes throughout the capital everywhere, at all hours. The complaints received by the town hall are numerous, confides Dr Domoina Malala, head of the water, sanitation and hygiene department of the Urban Commune of Antananarivo: “ All we want is to reduce the number of stray dogs, because some bite. They wander around trash cans, in markets, where they find food debris. And we can’t really control these dogs. »
So, when the Pasteur Institute and Cirad proposed a collaboration, as part of the “ Rabies Control in Madagascar ”, the AUC applauded: “ This project helps with the vaccination and sterilization of dogs. That’s why this study was really welcome! », Thanks Dr Domoina Malala.
The investigation carried out by the Pasteur Institute and CIRAD is expected to last one year. It will make it possible to collect important numerical data on the capital’s dogs.
“ The first objective of this survey is to have an idea of the ratio of men/dogs in the urban community of Antananarivo, to be able to inform the animal health services to set up vaccination campaigns against rabies which are suitable and feasibleexplains Véronique Chevalier, veterinary epidemiologist and researcher at CIRAD and co-coordinator of the project. We will also measure the number of people who are bitten per unit of time. It could be per week, per month, per year. Finally, the third objective is to identify the risk factors for biting. We know that in many countries where rabies is endemic, the people who are bitten are mostly children in some countries, mostly women in others, because they are the ones in the markets, etc. This information is used to target awareness and communication. »
On the island, rabies still causes between 300 and 800 deaths per year. Scientific research and field data have shown that mass vaccination campaigns of at least 70% of the dog population, was necessary to achieve the objective of eliminating deaths caused by rabies by 2030 (objective announced by the WHO, the OIE and the FAO). Vaccination remains the only real way to interrupt the infectious cycle between animals and humans.
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