561-577
A REVIEW OF RABIES IN LIVESTOCK AND HUMANS IN ETHIOPIA
Authors: Semayat Oyda , Bekele Megersa
Number of views: 905
Rabies, a viral disease caused by lyssa virus of family Rhabdoviridae, is a fatal zoonotic disease
with worldwide occurrence and endemic in developing countries of Africa and Asia. Rabies
generally affects all warm-blooded animals, but it is primarily a disease of dogs in Ethiopia
because access to suspected domestic canids and pets are not controlled indoor or by
immunization. The major means of transmission of the disease is through any types of bite,
scratch, or other situation in which saliva, cerebral, spinal fluid, tear, or nervous tissues from
suspected or known rabid animal or person enters an open wound, is transplanted into, or comes
in contact with mucus membrane of another animals or person. One of retrospective study of
rabies in Addis Ababa from 1990 – 2000 indicated that an average of 2,200 people per year
received post – exposure antirabies treatment while 95% of the reported fatal human rabies case
was due to dog bites. The widespread use of traditional medicine among urban and rural
population of Ethiopia could be attributed to cultural acceptability, physical accessibility and
economic affordability. Individuals who are exposed to the rabies virus often see traditional
healers for the diagnosis and treatments of the disease. Once the virus entered into body of
exposed individuals through wound (abrasion) or direct contact with mucosal surface, then there,
it replicates in the site of deposit (bitten site), where local viral proliferation occurs, and get
access (viral attachment) to motor endplates. The clinical sign of the disease is nonspecific and
difficult to differentiate without laboratory test, but some of signs such as pupil dilation in some
case, paralysis (last stage) and hydrophobia are some characteristic signs. The control of access
to domestic canid to other suspected animals is not only prevention method but also is treatment
measures. Mass vaccination of dogs and removal of stray canids are the best measure of control.
In general, this study provides an overview of the current status of Rabies in livestock and
human in Ethiopia.