Dog ecology and demography in Antananarivo-2007 Export

@article{citeulike:4755852, abstract = {BACKGROUND:Rabies is a widespread disease in African domestic dogs and a serious public health problem in developing countries. Canine rabies became established in Africa during the 20th century, coinciding with ecologic changes that favored its emergence in canids. This paper reports the results of a cross-sectional study of dog ecology in the Antananarivo urban community in Madagascar. A questionnaire survey of 1541 households was conducted in Antananarivo from October 2007 to January 2008. The study addressed both owned and unowned dogs. Various aspects of dog ecology were determined, including size of dog population, relationship between dogs and humans, rabies vaccination.RESULTS:Dog ownership was common, with 79.6 to 94.1\% (mean 88.9\%) of households in the six sublocations owning dogs. The mean domestic dog to person ratio was 1 dog per 4.5 persons (range: 1 per 3.2 - 1 per 6.0). Overall there were more male dogs and the male/female sex ratio was estimated to be 1.52; however, mature females were more likely than males to be stray dogs (OR: 1.93, CI 95\%; 1.39<OR<2.69). Most (79.1\%) domestic dogs were never restricted and roamed freely to forage for food and mix with stray dogs. Only a small proportion of dogs (11.7\%) were fed with commercial dog food. Only 7.2\% (CI95\%: 6.2-8.4) of domestic dogs had certificates confirming vaccination against rabies. The proportion of vaccinated dogs varied widely between arrondissements (administrative districts) (3.2\%-17.5\%). CONCLUSION:Antananarivo has a higher density of dogs than many other urban areas in Africa. The dog population is unrestricted and inadequately vaccinated against rabies. This analysis of the dog population will enable targeted planning of rabies control efforts.}, author = {Ratsitorahina, Maherisoa and Rasambainarivo, Jhon and Raharimanana, Soloherilala and Rakotonandrasana, Hary and Andriamiarisoa, Marie P. and Rakalomanana, Fidilalao and Richard, Vincent}, citeulike-article-id = {4755852}, citeulike-linkout-0 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1746-6148-5-21}, citeulike-linkout-1 = {http://view.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19486516}, citeulike-linkout-2 = {http://www.hubmed.org/display.cgi?uids=19486516}, doi = {10.1186/1746-6148-5-21}, issn = {1746-6148}, journal = {BMC Veterinary Research}, keywords = {dog, ecology, madagascar, rabies}, number = {1}, pages = {21+}, posted-at = {2009-06-05 21:39:46}, priority = {5}, title = {Dog ecology and demography in Antananarivo-2007}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1746-6148-5-21}, volume = {5}, year = {2009} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:4755852 L3 - citeulike-article-id:4755852 N2 - BACKGROUND:Rabies is a widespread disease in African domestic dogs and a serious public health problem in developing countries. Canine rabies became established in Africa during the 20th century, coinciding with ecologic changes that favored its emergence in canids. This paper reports the results of a cross-sectional study of dog ecology in the Antananarivo urban community in Madagascar. A questionnaire survey of 1541 households was conducted in Antananarivo from October 2007 to January 2008. The study addressed both owned and unowned dogs. Various aspects of dog ecology were determined, including size of dog population, relationship between dogs and humans, rabies vaccination.RESULTS:Dog ownership was common, with 79.6 to 94.1% (mean 88.9%) of households in the six sublocations owning dogs. The mean domestic dog to person ratio was 1 dog per 4.5 persons (range: 1 per 3.2 - 1 per 6.0). Overall there were more male dogs and the male/female sex ratio was estimated to be 1.52; however, mature females were more likely than males to be stray dogs (OR: 1.93, CI 95%; 1.39<OR<2.69). Most (79.1%) domestic dogs were never restricted and roamed freely to forage for food and mix with stray dogs. Only a small proportion of dogs (11.7%) were fed with commercial dog food. Only 7.2% (CI95%: 6.2-8.4) of domestic dogs had certificates confirming vaccination against rabies. The proportion of vaccinated dogs varied widely between arrondissements (administrative districts) (3.2%-17.5%). CONCLUSION:Antananarivo has a higher density of dogs than many other urban areas in Africa. The dog population is unrestricted and inadequately vaccinated against rabies. This analysis of the dog population will enable targeted planning of rabies control efforts. IS - 1 JF - BMC Veterinary Research SN - 1746-6148 TI - Dog ecology and demography in Antananarivo-2007 VL - 5 SP - 21 KW - dog KW - ecology KW - madagascar KW - rabies AU - Ratsitorahina, Maherisoa AU - Rasambainarivo, Jhon AU - Raharimanana, Soloherilala AU - Rakotonandrasana, Hary AU - Andriamiarisoa, Marie AU - Rakalomanana, Fidilalao AU - Richard, Vincent PY - 2009/// UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1746-6148-5-21 ER -