Influence of dog ecology on spread and control of infectious zoonotic diseases
staff involved: Charlotte Warembourg, Salome Dürr
Duration: 2017 - 2020
Since their early domestication, dogs and humans generally live in a close proximity. The benefits of this relationship are numerous, among them; dogs can ensure the security of assets, family members and livestock, they can also provide food by hunting with their owners. Meanwhile, humans also provide food, comfort, companionship and housing for their dogs. Nonetheless, this close relationship can unfortunately foster the spread of infectious diseases between dogs and humans. Zoonosis transmitted by dogs, particularly rabies, can have a high impact on public health. More than 99% of human rabies cases result from dog bites. Human play an important role to ensure that this relationship do not become detrimental, for example by providing vaccination campaigns in the countries where rabies is endemic. Thanks to vaccination, rabies has already been eradicated in most of the developed countries but is still endemic in plenty of low-income countries. OIE and WHO aim to eliminate canine-mediated rabies by the year 2030. The current recommendation is the vaccination of at least 70% of the dog population. This is based on empirical observation and analyses of historical rabies outbreaks and may not be adapted to each dog population. WHO and OIE agreed that the vaccination programs should take into account the ecology of the dog population, including the degree of ownership (owned and confined, owned and roaming, community owned or ownerless). To study the roaming behavior of free-roaming domestic dogs (FRDD), we intent to use GPS collars associated with contact sensors in various geographic areas in order to identify the factors that influence the roaming behavior of FRDD and therefore can influence the spread of rabies. By comparing data from different regions worldwide, we aim to highlight the potential diversity in behavior of the domestic dog among various environments. We will then be able to develop accurate model for rabies transmission within dog populations worldwide. The use of disease spread model enables us to change the identified factors freely and evaluate their effect on the size and duration of an outbreak and on the efficiency on targeted control measures.
