Table 1:
Demographic and exposure characteristics of 122 human rabies breakthrough infections with or without deviations from core practices
| All cases (n=122) | Breakthrough infections with reported or possible deviations from core practices (n=68)* | Breakthrough infections without deviations from core practices (n=54)* | |
|---|---|---|---|
| WHO classification of human rabies case 4 | |||
| Confirmed | 56/122 (46%) | 24/68 (35%) | 32/54 (59%) |
| Probable | 66/122 (54%) | 44/68 (65%) | 22/54 (41%) |
| Age, years | |||
| 0–9 | 42/122 (34%) | 17/68 (25%) | 25/54 (46%) |
| 10–19 | 27/122 (22%) | 20/68 (29%) | 7/54 (13%) |
| 20–29 | 9/122 (7%) | 7/68 (10%) | 2/54 (4%) |
| 30–39 | 8/122 (7%) | 5/68 (7%) | 3/54 (6%) |
| 40–49 | 5/122 (4%) | 2/68 (3%) | 3/54 (6%) |
| 50–59 | 17/122 (14%) | 8/68 (12%) | 9/54 (17%) |
| 60–69 | 8/122 (7%) | 5/68 (7%) | 3/54 (6%) |
| 70–79 | 4/122 (3%) | 3/68 (4%) | 1/54 (2%) |
| ≥80 | 2/122 (2%) | 1/68 (1%) | 1/54 (2%) |
| Sex | |||
| Female | 37/121 (31%) | 20/67 (30%) | 17/54 (31%) |
| Male | 84/121 (69%) | 47/67 (70%) | 37/54 (69%) |
| Exposure | |||
| Dog | 88/101 (87%) | 41/47 (87%) | 47/54 (87%) |
| Fox | 4/101 (4%) | 1/47 (2%) | 3/54 (6%) |
| Wolf | 3/101 (3%) | 1/47 (2%) | 2/54 (4%) |
| Mongoose | 2/101 (2%) | 1/47 (2%) | 1/54 (2%) |
| Jackal | 2/101 (2%) | 1/47 (2%) | 1/54 (2%) |
| Emin’s pouched rat (Cricetomys emini) | 1/101 (1%) | 1/47 (2%) | 0/54 (0%) |
| Cat | 1/101 (1%) | 1/47 (2%) | 0/54 (0%) |
| Exposure type | |||
| Bite | 118/122 (97%) | 66/68 (97%) | 52/54 (96%) |
| Scratch | 2/122 (2%) | 2/68 (3%) | 0/54 (0%) |
| Not specified | 2/122 (2%) | 0/68 (0%) | 2/54 (4%) |
| Wound location | |||
| Face or neck | 62/116 (53%) | 28/63 (44%) | 34/53 (64%) |
| Arms or hands | 55/116 (47%) | 30/63 (48%) | 25/53 (47%) |
| Trunk or back | 16/116 (14%) | 8/63 (13%) | 8/53 (15%) |
| Legs or feet | 25/116 (22%) | 15/63 (24%) | 10/53 (19%) |
| Number of anatomical wound locations | |||
| 1 | 81/116 (70%) | 47/63 (75%) | 34/53 (64%) |
| 2 | 29/116 (25%) | 14/63 (22%) | 15/53 (28%) |
| 3 | 5/116 (4%) | 2/63 (3%) | 3/53 (6%) |
| 4 | 1/116 (1%) | 0/63 (0%) | 1/53 (2%) |
Data are n/N (%).
Breakthrough infections without deviations from core practices were defined as infections for which the study reported wound cleaning (regardless of the thoroughness of wound cleaning), the study did not indicate a concern with the injection site of rabies vaccines (ie, about incorrect administration into the gluteal muscle), and the current authors could determine that vaccine doses had been given according to a validated vaccine schedule. Breakthrough infections with known or possible post-exposure prophylaxis deviations from core practices included those with deviations or possible deviations from at least one of the core practices.