Adnie Liuel Yizengaw, Jemberu Wudu Temesgen, Woreta Adane Bahiru, Berju Adugna, Mengistu Araya, Wondie Zeleke Tesema, Molla Wassie, Mekonnen Sefinew Alemu
Department of Veterinary Laboratory Technology, College of Agriculture and Natural Resource, Debre Markos University, P O Box 269, Debre Markos, Ethiopia.
Department of Veterinary Epidemiology and Public Health, College of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, University of Gondar, P. O. Box 196, Gondar, Ethiopia.
Heliyon. 2024 Dec 31;11(1):e41582. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e41582. eCollection 2025 Jan 15.
Knowledge of domestic dog ecology and demography has been recognized as central to the design of an effective rabies control program. The study was conducted to assess owned dogs' ecology and demography and to identify predictors associated with dog ownership and rabies occurrence in the Amhara region, Ethiopia.
ology: The study employed dog census and questionnaire surveys of 907 households selected using a multistage sampling technique from six rural and six urban districts of the Amhara region, Ethiopia. The ecology and demography of owned dogs in the selected areas were recorded and described using descriptive statistics. Mixed-effect logistic regression models were used to identify factors associated with dog ownership and rabies occurrence.
A total of 6609 dogs were estimated from 42 kebeles in the 12 study districts. The male-to-female ratio of dogs was 1.7:1.0, and the mean age of dogs was 3.2 years. The proportion of households who owned at least one dog was 5.9 %. The average number of dogs per dog-owned household was 1.3. Dog to household ratio was 1.0:13.0, and dog to human ratio was 1.0:48.5. The majority of the dog owners (97 %) keep dogs for home guard and livestock herding. Only 57 % of the dogs were confined, and 16 % of them were vaccinated. Ninety-one percent of the dog owners did not practice neutering and spaying for dog population control. Religion, livestock ownership pattern, and occupation were associated with dog ownership (p < 0.05). Community residence and age of respondents were associated with rabies occurrence (p < 0.05), while zone was associated with both dog ownership and rabies occurrence at p-value <0.05.
The study indicated a low dog population relative to humans, which might make dog-based rabies control manageable. But at the same time, most dogs were not properly managed (confined and vaccinated), which calls for more awareness about responsible dog ownership to reduce zoonotic disease risk, including rabies. Generally, the study provides useful information about the demography and ecology of owned dogs in relation to rabies for making proper and effective rabies control strategies and is important to design the spatial distribution of rabies vaccination in dogs. However, as the study did not include stray dogs, which have great contributions to the spread of rabies, the information should be used with this caveat into consideration.
了解家犬的生态学和种群统计学被认为是设计有效狂犬病防控计划的核心。本研究旨在评估埃塞俄比亚阿姆哈拉地区家犬的生态学和种群统计学，并确定与家犬饲养及狂犬病发生相关的预测因素。
本研究采用犬类普查和问卷调查，从埃塞俄比亚阿姆哈拉地区六个农村和六个城市地区，运用多阶段抽样技术选取了907户家庭。使用描述性统计方法记录并描述所选地区家犬的生态学和种群统计学特征。采用混合效应逻辑回归模型来确定与家犬饲养及狂犬病发生相关的因素。
在12个研究地区的42个社区共估计有6609只犬。犬的雌雄比例为1.7:1.0，犬的平均年龄为3.2岁。拥有至少一只犬的家庭比例为5.9%。每户养犬家庭的平均犬只数量为1.3只。犬与家庭的比例为1.0:13.0，犬与人的比例为1.0:48.5。大多数犬主（97%）养狗用于看家护院和放牧牲畜。只有57%的犬被圈养，其中16%接种了疫苗。91%的犬主未采取绝育措施来控制犬只数量。宗教信仰、牲畜饲养模式和职业与家犬饲养有关（p<0.05）。社区居住情况和受访者年龄与狂犬病发生有关（p<0.05），而区域与家犬饲养及狂犬病发生均有关，p值<0.05。
研究表明，相对于人类而言犬的数量较少，这可能使基于犬的狂犬病防控易于管理。但与此同时，大多数犬没有得到妥善管理（圈养和接种疫苗），这就需要提高对负责任养犬的认识，以降低包括狂犬病在内的人畜共患病风险。总体而言，该研究为制定适当有效的狂犬病防控策略提供了有关家犬种群统计学和生态学与狂犬病相关的有用信息，对于设计犬类狂犬病疫苗接种的空间分布很重要。然而，由于该研究未包括对狂犬病传播有很大贡献的流浪犬，使用这些信息时应考虑到这一警告。
