Dog demography and ecology with reference to rabies in the Amhara region, Ethiopia

cg.authorship.typesCGIAR and developing country instituteen
cg.contributor.affiliationDebre Markos Universityen
cg.contributor.affiliationUniversity of Gondaren
cg.contributor.affiliationSirinka Agricultural Research Center, Ethiopiaen
cg.contributor.affiliationInternational Livestock Research Instituteen
cg.contributor.affiliationSekota Dryland Agricultural Research Center, Ethiopiaen
cg.contributor.donorUniversity of Gondaren
cg.contributor.donorAmhara Region Agricultural Research Instituteen
cg.coverage.countryEthiopia
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2ET
cg.coverage.regionAfrica
cg.coverage.regionEastern Africa
cg.creator.identifierWudu Temesgen Jemberu: 0000-0002-3769-307X
cg.howPublishedFormally Publisheden
cg.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e41582en
cg.isijournalISI Journalen
cg.issn2405-8440en
cg.issue1en
cg.journalHeliyonen
cg.reviewStatusPeer Reviewen
cg.subject.ilriANIMAL DISEASESen
cg.subject.ilriZOONOTIC DISEASESen
cg.subject.impactAreaNutrition, health and food security
cg.subject.sdgSDG 3 - Good health and well-beingen
cg.volume11en
dc.contributor.authorAdnie, L.Y.en
dc.contributor.authorJemberu, Wudu T.en
dc.contributor.authorWoreta, A.B.en
dc.contributor.authorBerju, A.en
dc.contributor.authorMengistu, A.en
dc.contributor.authorWondie, Z.T.en
dc.contributor.authorMolla, W.en
dc.contributor.authorMekonnen, S.A.en
dc.date.accessioned2025-01-03T07:51:13Zen
dc.date.available2025-01-03T07:51:13Zen
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/168489
dc.titleDog demography and ecology with reference to rabies in the Amhara region, Ethiopiaen
dcterms.abstractKnowledge of domestic dog ecology and demography has been recognized as central to the design of an effective rabies control program. The study was conducted to assess owned dogs' ecology and demography and to identify predictors associated with dog ownership and rabies occurrence in the Amhara region, Ethiopia. Methodology: The study employed dog census and questionnaire surveys of 907 households selected using a multistage sampling technique from six rural and six urban districts of the Amhara region, Ethiopia. The ecology and demography of owned dogs in the selected areas were recorded and described using descriptive statistics. Mixed-effect logistic regression models were used to identify factors associated with dog ownership and rabies occurrence. Results: A total of 6609 dogs were estimated from 42 kebeles in the 12 study districts. The male-to-female ratio of dogs was 1.7:1.0, and the mean age of dogs was 3.2 years. The proportion of households who owned at least one dog was 5.9 %. The average number of dogs per dog-owned household was 1.3. Dog to household ratio was 1.0:13.0, and dog to human ratio was 1.0:48.5. The majority of the dog owners (97 %) keep dogs for home guard and livestock herding. Only 57 % of the dogs were confined, and 16 % of them were vaccinated. Ninety-one percent of the dog owners did not practice neutering and spaying for dog population control. Religion, livestock ownership pattern, and occupation were associated with dog ownership (p < 0.05). Community residence and age of respondents were associated with rabies occurrence (p < 0.05), while zone was associated with both dog ownership and rabies occurrence at p-value <0.05. Conclusions: The study indicated a low dog population relative to humans, which might make dog-based rabies control manageable. But at the same time, most dogs were not properly managed (confined and vaccinated), which calls for more awareness about responsible dog ownership to reduce zoonotic disease risk, including rabies. Generally, the study provides useful information about the demography and ecology of owned dogs in relation to rabies for making proper and effective rabies control strategies and is important to design the spatial distribution of rabies vaccination in dogs. However, as the study did not include stray dogs, which have great contributions to the spread of rabies, the information should be used with this caveat into consideration.en
dcterms.accessRightsOpen Access
dcterms.audienceAcademicsen
dcterms.audienceScientistsen
dcterms.available2024-12-31
dcterms.bibliographicCitationAdnie, L.Y., Jemberu, W.T., Woreta, A.B., Berju, A., Mengistu, A., Wondie, Z.T., Molla, W. and Mekonnen, S.A. 2025. Dog demography and ecology with reference to rabies in the Amhara region, Ethiopia. Heliyon 11(1): e41582.en
dcterms.extente41582en
dcterms.issued2025-01-15
dcterms.languageen
dcterms.licenseCC-BY-4.0
dcterms.publisherElsevieren
dcterms.subjectanimal diseasesen
dcterms.subjectdogsen
dcterms.subjectrabiesen
dcterms.subjectzoonosesen
dcterms.typeJournal Article

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