PREVALENCE OF DOG BITE CASES IN HUMANS AND VACCINATION COVERAGE AGAINST RABIES IN SELECTED PARTS OF LAGOS STATE, NIGERIA

Aim: Lagos State has a long history of rabies control efforts. However, the success of such efforts and the goal to eliminate rabies is yet to be realized. This study was carried out to evaluate dog bite cases in humans presented to the Lagos State Teaching Hospital Ikeja and to evaluate anti-rabies vaccination coverage in dogs presented for dog consultation at the State Animal Hospital Agege and a private Veterinary Clinic Ikeja between the years of 2012 to 2018. Methods: Factors such as age, sex and season of dog bites in humans as well as the age and sex of dogs presented for anti-rabies vaccination were obtained for the years under review. Also, a cross-sectional survey was conducted using structured questionnaires to assess knowledge on rabies and factors affecting routine anti-rabies dog vaccination amongst consenting residents and dog owners of selected households in Ikeja and Agege Local Government Areas of Lagos state. Results: From the retrospective data on dog bites in humans, a total of 347 dog bites was reported with 59.7% (207) occurring in females and 40.3% (140) in males, all of whom were adults aged between 25 to 40 years. Seasonal distribution of bites indicates a higher frequency in the months of April, July and October. A total of 300 (13.2%) dogs were vaccinated out of 2,275 cases presented to the State Animal Hospital Agege, 48% (144) of which were females and 52% (156) males. 62.7% (188) of the dogs were aged between 3 to 12 months, 23.3% (70) aged between 12 to 36 months and 14% (42) aged above 36 months. A total of 295 (28.1%) dogs were vaccinated out of the 1,048 cases presented to the private Veterinary Clinic at Ikeja. On the cross-sectional study, 422 consenting households were issued a questionnaire across the two local government areas. Overall, 330 (78.2%) had satisfactory knowledge on rabies, while 92 (21.8%) had a non-satisfactory knowledge on rabies, 287 (68%) knew what to do when bitten by a dog while 135 (32%) gave a non-satisfactory response, 302 (71.6%) had reasonable response to perceived threats of rabies whereas 120 (28.4%) respondents were not quite knowledgeable on the perceived threats of rabies. Factors affecting routine anti-rabies vaccination in dogs such as breed, cost, distance and ease of handling were assessed among 196 dog owners out of the 422 selected households, with no statistical significance as factors associated with or affecting dog rabies vaccination coverage. Conclusions: The result of this study indicates that dog bite as a threat to spread of rabies is still a menace and anti-rabies vaccination coverage of dogs falls below the recommended standard by the World Health Organization despite various existing control programs. Despite majority of respondents having satisfactory knowledge on rabies, their attitudes towards rabies prevention were inadequate.