TY - JOUR
T1 - Encuesta sobre vacunación anti-rábica en veterinarios de fauna silvestre en Chile
AU - Escobar, Luis E.
AU - Yung, Verónica
AU - Vargas-Rodríguez, Renzo
AU - Medina-Vogel, Gonzalo
AU - Favi, Myriam
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015, Rev Chilena Infectol. All right reserved.
Copyright:
Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2015/8/4
Y1 - 2015/8/4
N2 - Introduction: Rabies is a lethal but preventable disease. Knowing the extent of immunization coverage among at risk populations, may help to guide immunization efforts, as well as increase the effectiveness of rabies control and prevention programs. Aim: To determine the proportion of wildlife veterinarians in Chile, as part of a group at risk of rabies transmission. Methods: An electronic survey was sent to wildlife veterinarians in Chile. Results: We found that veterinarians in Chile work mainly with carnivores and deer compared to other mammals (p < 0.001), rarely works with bats (p = 0.6572). Most of the participants had been bitten by domestic animals, while a lesser proportion (29%) by wild animals. Most of the participants never received rabies vaccination (53%), while within the group that had started a rabies vaccination scheme, a substantial proportion (39%) did not complete it. Discussion and conclusion: Identify the vaccination status of risk groups is important for infectious disease control and prevention programs, as this information helps to identify priority groups during outbreaks or vaccine scarcity. Wildlife veterinarians in Chile are at risk of rabies transmission and should be included in rabies prevention programs, especially considering their vulnerability and lack of biosafety practices. Increasing education in rabies epidemiology and prevention is urgently needed in veterinary faculties in Chile.
AB - Introduction: Rabies is a lethal but preventable disease. Knowing the extent of immunization coverage among at risk populations, may help to guide immunization efforts, as well as increase the effectiveness of rabies control and prevention programs. Aim: To determine the proportion of wildlife veterinarians in Chile, as part of a group at risk of rabies transmission. Methods: An electronic survey was sent to wildlife veterinarians in Chile. Results: We found that veterinarians in Chile work mainly with carnivores and deer compared to other mammals (p < 0.001), rarely works with bats (p = 0.6572). Most of the participants had been bitten by domestic animals, while a lesser proportion (29%) by wild animals. Most of the participants never received rabies vaccination (53%), while within the group that had started a rabies vaccination scheme, a substantial proportion (39%) did not complete it. Discussion and conclusion: Identify the vaccination status of risk groups is important for infectious disease control and prevention programs, as this information helps to identify priority groups during outbreaks or vaccine scarcity. Wildlife veterinarians in Chile are at risk of rabies transmission and should be included in rabies prevention programs, especially considering their vulnerability and lack of biosafety practices. Increasing education in rabies epidemiology and prevention is urgently needed in veterinary faculties in Chile.
KW - Bat
KW - Chile
KW - Immunization
KW - Rabies
KW - Veterinarians
KW - Wildlife
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U2 - 10.4067/s0716-10182015000400006
DO - 10.4067/s0716-10182015000400006
M3 - Article
C2 - 26230435
AN - SCOPUS:84938546483
VL - 32
SP - 289
EP - 293
JO - Revista Chilena de Infectologia
JF - Revista Chilena de Infectologia
SN - 0716-1018
IS - 3
ER -