Household survey on owned dog population and rabies knowledge in selected municipalities in Bulacan, Philippines: A cross-sectional study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Despite the effort to eradicate rabies in the Philippines, human rabies cases have not decreased in the past decade. Rabid dogs pose the most significant hazard in the countries with the highest burden of rabies, and 70% rabies vaccine coverage is recommended for dogs in high-risk areas. Ascertaining the owned dog population and community knowledge on rabies can help improve vaccine coverage and information campaigns.

Methodology/principal findings

We conducted a cross-sectional survey in six randomly selected communities (five urban, one rural) in Central Luzon, Philippines. We first conducted the complete mapping of 9,173 households and then randomly selected 727 households. More than half (54.1%) of the households owned dogs (1.21 dogs/household). In the 727 ho

SUBMITTER: Dizon TJR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8797173 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature