Cho Hyun-Kyu, Shin Yoon-Joo, Shin Nam-Shik, Chae Joon-Seok
Laboratory of Zoo & Wildlife Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea.
Laboratory of Veterinary Internal Medicine, BK21 Plus program for Creative for Veterinary Science Research, Research Institute of Veterinary Science and College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea.
J Vet Med Sci. 2020 Dec 5;82(11):1685-1692. doi: 10.1292/jvms.20-0173. Epub 2020 Oct 8.
The field distribution of the oral rabies vaccine is effective in controlling the spread of rabies. The present study aimed to investigate efficient distribution locations based on the environment, contact rate, and consumption by target wildlife species in South Korea. The target species (Korean raccoon dogs, domestic dogs, and feral cats) accounted for 945 contacts (52.2%), in total 1,808 contacts. There were 863 (47.8%) contacts by non-target species. Raccoon dogs, a main reservoir of rabies in South Korea, had the highest contact rate (34.1%) among all species. The contact rate by target species was highest at riparian sites and bushy mountainous vegetation, where raccoon dogs are abundant. There was remarkable contact by raccoon dogs in mountainous areas below 150 m with bushy vegetation. Our results indicate that these locations are efficient areas for vaccine distribution, especially targeting the raccoon dog. Vaccines were continuously contacted with intervals ranging from one hour to one day. Vaccines at 94.4% of the distribution points were completely consumed within two weeks. The mean consumption rate was 95.2 ± 1.93% during the overall study period. These findings suggest that the oral rabies vaccine attracts wildlife including domestic dogs and feral cats. Our results suggest that low sections of mountainous areas with bushy vegetation and/or neighboring riparian areas are rich in target wildlife species (especially raccoon dogs) and are efficient locations for vaccine distribution to control rabies in South Korea.
口服狂犬病疫苗的野外分布在控制狂犬病传播方面是有效的。本研究旨在根据韩国的环境、接触率和目标野生动物物种的消耗量来调查高效的分布地点。目标物种（韩国貉、家犬和野猫）在总共1808次接触中占945次接触（52.2%）。非目标物种有863次接触（47.8%）。韩国狂犬病的主要宿主貉在所有物种中的接触率最高（34.1%）。目标物种的接触率在河岸地带和灌木丛生的山区最高，那里貉的数量很多。在海拔150米以下、植被茂密的山区，貉有显著的接触情况。我们的结果表明，这些地点是疫苗分布的高效区域，尤其是针对貉。疫苗的接触间隔时间从1小时到1天不等。94.4%的分布点的疫苗在两周内被完全消耗。在整个研究期间，平均消耗率为95.2±1.93%。这些发现表明，口服狂犬病疫苗吸引了包括家犬和野猫在内的野生动物。我们的结果表明，植被茂密的山区低地段和/或邻近的河岸地区有丰富的目标野生动物物种（特别是貉），是韩国用于控制狂犬病的疫苗分布的高效地点。
