Unit of Ecology and Epidemiology, Arbovirus and Zoonoses Program, Center for Health Studies, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala City, Guatemala.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Central America and Caribbean Region, Guatemala City, Guatemala.
PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2022 Jul 7;16(7):e0010522. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0010522. eCollection 2022 Jul.
Guatemala has held dog rabies mass vaccination campaigns countrywide since 1984, yet the virus remains endemic. To eliminate dog-mediated human rabies, dog vaccination coverage must reach at least 70%. The Guatemala rabies program uses a 5:1 human:dog ratio (HDR) to estimate the vaccination coverage; however, this method may not accurately reflect the heterogeneity of dog ownership practices in Guatemalan communities. We conducted 16 field-based dog population estimates in urban, semi-urban and rural areas of Guatemala to determine HDR and evaluate the standard 5:1. Our study-derived HDR estimates varied from 1.7-11.4:1 (average 4.0:1), being higher in densely populated sites and lowest in rural communities. The community-to-community heterogeneity observed in dog populations could explain the persistence of rabies in certain communities. To date, this is the most extensive dog-population evaluation conducted in Guatemala, and can be used to inform future rabies vaccination campaigns needed to meet the global 2030 rabies elimination targets.
危地马拉自 1984 年以来在全国范围内开展了犬狂犬病大规模疫苗接种运动，但该病毒仍然流行。为了消除犬介导的人类狂犬病，犬疫苗接种覆盖率必须至少达到 70%。危地马拉狂犬病项目使用 5:1 的人类与犬的比例（HDR）来估计疫苗接种覆盖率；然而，这种方法可能无法准确反映危地马拉社区中犬只拥有情况的异质性。我们在危地马拉的城市、半城市和农村地区进行了 16 项基于实地的犬只种群估计，以确定 HDR 并评估标准的 5:1。我们的研究得出的 HDR 估计值从 1.7-11.4:1（平均 4.0:1）不等，在人口密集的地区较高，在农村社区最低。在犬只种群中观察到的社区间异质性可以解释某些社区中狂犬病持续存在的原因。迄今为止，这是在危地马拉进行的最广泛的犬只种群评估，可以用于为未来的狂犬病疫苗接种运动提供信息，以实现全球 2030 年消除狂犬病的目标。
