Rabies Guide 2010.pdf - the South African Veterinary Council

RABIES CONTROL STRATEGIES
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It is beyond the scope of this publication to provide
details of appropriate rabies control principles and
strategies for all circumstances and geographic areas in
South Africa. The following general principles should,
however, always be considered and adapted when
controlling a specific outbreak. Control strategies
include quarantine, confirmation of diagnosis,
determining the origin and spread of an outbreak,
and specific measures to terminate transmission.
The property on which the disease has presumably
occurred, should immediately be placed under
quarantine. This may be done by serving a quarantine
notice on an individual person or, if a large area is
involved, by means of a notice in the Government
Gazette or printed media.
It is absolutely essential to confirm the diagnosis of
rabies. Good-quality specimens must be collected.
The investigating officer must submit full details of
all contact animals, the date of contact and animals’
vaccination status.
In the case of dogs and cats, full particulars of rabies
vaccination, including the vaccination dates, type of
vaccine, batch number and name of the vaccinating
officer must be determined. Human contacts must
be reported and referred to the relevant local health
authority.
It is important to determine the possible origin
of the rabies outbreak by checking whether any
wild carnivores, mongooses or stray cats and dogs
have recently been noticed in the area. In addition
the investigating officer should establish whether
animals were attacked and obtain a full history
of any bite wounds inflicted. An investigation to
determine whether any other animals in the area or
on neighbouring farms were bitten or had contact
with the suspicious vector should be performed.
All neighbours of infected farms must be notified
about the disease so that they can prevent it spreading
to their livestock. It is always a good idea to notify
the local farmers’ association or even the district
agricultural union of outbreaks. In this way, inhabitants
of the entire area are alerted to the outbreak. This can
also promote the state veterinary services’ surveillance
efforts. In urban areas the community is generally
notified through newspapers, radio and television.
When an outbreak has been confirmed, the responsible
state veterinarian decides on the area requiring
vaccination. The general rule for urban outbreaks
caused by the mongoose strain, is to vaccinate all
dogs and cats in the affected street and neighbouring
blocks. With farm outbreaks, animals on the infected
property should be vaccinated. With outbreaks on
small holdings it is important to vaccinate animals on
surrounding properties.
If the outbreak is confirmed as the result of a canid
strain of rabies virus, the objective must be to
vaccinate all dogs and cats within the immediate
surrounding area up to a radius of approximately 25
km, at the discretion of the state veterinarian.
Large-scale vaccination
This approach is the initial response to rabies
outbreaks in endemic high-risk areas. The aim should
be to vaccinate at least 70% of the animal population
at risk in a single campaign within as short a period as
possible. Where this cannot be achieved, two or more
campaigns should be conducted within a year.
Cordon vaccination
The aim of cordon vaccination is to create a barrier
of animal immunity. This approach has become
increasingly important during the second phase of
canine rabies elimination, particularly in the vicinity
of international borders and national as well as
provincial game reserves. This is necessary to prevent
reinfection of areas currently free from rabies and to
protect rabies-free wildlife areas. A cordon of 20 to 30
km is usually sufficient for this purpose.
Ring vaccination
The long-distance transport of animals, particularly
dogs that may be incubating the disease, is of
increasing concern to veterinary authorities attempting