Skip to main content
PMC home page
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences logoLink to Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
. 1998 Jun 29;353(1371):999–1010. doi: 10.1098/rstb.1998.0263

Rabies in Zimbabwe: reservoir dogs and the implications for disease control.

C J Rhodes 1, R P Atkinson 1, R M Anderson 1, D W Macdonald 1
PMCID: PMC1692299  PMID: 9684293

Abstract

Using detailed field study observations of the side-striped jackal (Canis adustus) and a simple stochastic model of the transmission dynamics of the virus and host demography, we discuss the epidemiology of rabies virus infection in the jackal population of Zimbabwe. Of the two jackal species in Zimbabwe, the other being the black-backed jackal (Canis mesomelas), the bulk of notified rabies cases are in side-striped jackals. Specifically, we show that the side-striped jackal population itself does not seem able to support rabies infection endemically, i.e. without frequent reintroduction from outside sources of infection. We argue that this is probably because the overall average jackal population density is too low to maintain the chain of infection. This study suggests that the disease is regularly introduced to jackals by rabid dogs from populations associated with human settlements. Given the rapidly rising dog population in Zimbabwe, estimates are derived of the future incidence of jackal rabies based on different dog-vaccination scenarios.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (250.7 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. ADAMSON J. S. Ecology of rabies in Southern Rhodesia. Bull World Health Organ. 1954;10(5):753–759. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Anderson R. M., Jackson H. C., May R. M., Smith A. M. Population dynamics of fox rabies in Europe. Nature. 1981 Feb 26;289(5800):765–771. doi: 10.1038/289765a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Aubert M. Control of rabies in foxes: what are the appropriate measures? Vet Rec. 1994 Jan 15;134(3):55–59. doi: 10.1136/vr.134.3.55. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Bingham J., Foggin C. M. Jackal rabies in Zimbabwe. Onderstepoort J Vet Res. 1993 Dec;60(4):365–366. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Bingham J., Kappeler A., Hill F. W., King A. A., Perry B. D., Foggin C. M. Efficacy of SAD (Berne) rabies vaccine given by the oral route in two species of jackal (Canis mesomelas and Canis adustus). J Wildl Dis. 1995 Jul;31(3):416–419. doi: 10.7589/0090-3558-31.3.416. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Brooks R. Survey of the dog population of Zimbabwe and its level of rabies vaccination. Vet Rec. 1990 Dec 15;127(24):592–596. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Cleaveland S., Dye C. Maintenance of a microparasite infecting several host species: rabies in the Serengeti. Parasitology. 1995;111 (Suppl):S33–S47. doi: 10.1017/s0031182000075806. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. De Balogh K. K., Wandeler A. I., Meslin F. X. A dog ecology study in an urban and a semi-rural area of Zambia. Onderstepoort J Vet Res. 1993 Dec;60(4):437–443. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Gascoyne S. C., King A. A., Laurenson M. K., Borner M., Schildger B., Barrat J. Aspects of rabies infection and control in the conservation of the African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) in the Serengeti region, Tanzania. Onderstepoort J Vet Res. 1993 Dec;60(4):415–420. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Gascoyne S. C., Laurenson M. K., Lelo S., Borner M. Rabies in African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) in the Serengeti region, Tanzania. J Wildl Dis. 1993 Jul;29(3):396–402. doi: 10.7589/0090-3558-29.3.396. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Kitala P. M., McDermott J. J., Kyule M. N., Cathuma J. M. Features of dog ecology relevant to rabies spread in Machakos District, Kenya. Onderstepoort J Vet Res. 1993 Dec;60(4):445–449. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. MacDonald D. W. Rabies and wildlife: a conservation problem? Onderstepoort J Vet Res. 1993 Dec;60(4):351–355. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Murray J. D., Stanley E. A., Brown D. L. On the spatial spread of rabies among foxes. Proc R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 1986 Nov 22;229(1255):111–150. doi: 10.1098/rspb.1986.0078. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Olsen L. F., Truty G. L., Schaffer W. M. Oscillations and chaos in epidemics: a nonlinear dynamic study of six childhood diseases in Copenhagen, Denmark. Theor Popul Biol. 1988 Jun;33(3):344–370. doi: 10.1016/0040-5809(88)90019-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Perry B. D. Dog ecology in eastern and southern Africa: implications for rabies control. Onderstepoort J Vet Res. 1993 Dec;60(4):429–436. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Rhodes C. J., Anderson R. M. Power laws governing epidemics in isolated populations. Nature. 1996 Jun 13;381(6583):600–602. doi: 10.1038/381600a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Smith G. C., Harris S. Rabies in urban foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in Britain: the use of a spatial stochastic simulation model to examine the pattern of spread and evaluate the efficacy of different control régimes. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 1991 Dec 30;334(1271):459–479. doi: 10.1098/rstb.1991.0127. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Swanepoel R., Barnard B. J., Meredith C. D., Bishop G. C., Brückner G. K., Foggin C. M., Hübschle O. J. Rabies in southern Africa. Onderstepoort J Vet Res. 1993 Dec;60(4):325–346. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences are provided here courtesy of The Royal Society

RESOURCES