Epidemiology, Impact and Control of Rabies in Nepal: A Systematic Review

by Brecht Devleesschauwer, Arjun Aryal, Barun Kumar Sharma, Anita Ale, Anne Declercq, Stephanie Depraz, Tara Nath Gaire, Gyanendra Gongal, Surendra Karki, Basu Dev Pandey, Sher Bahadur Pun, Luc Duchateau, Pierre Dorny, Niko Speybroeck Background Rabies is a vaccine-preventable viral zoonosis belonging to the group of neglected tropical diseases. Exposure to a rabid animal may result in a fatal acute encephalitis if effective post-exposure prophylaxis is not provided. Rabies occurs worldwide, but its burden is disproportionately high in developing countries, including Nepal. We aimed to summarize current knowledge on the epidemiology, impact and control of rabies in Nepal. Methods We performed a systematic review of international and national scientific literature and searched grey literature through the World Health Organization Digital Library and the library of the National Zoonoses and Food Hygiene Research Centre, Nepal, and through searching Google and Google Scholar. Further data on animal and human rabies were obtained from the relevant Nepalese government agencies. Finally, we surveyed the archives of a Nepalese daily to obtain qualitative information on rabies in Nepal. Findings So far, only little original research has been conducted on the epidemiology and impact of rabies in Nepal. Per year, rabies is reported to kill about 100 livestock and 10–100 humans, while about 1,000 livestock and 35,000 humans are reported to receive rabies post-exposure prophylaxis. How...
Source: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases - Category: Tropical Medicine Authors: Source Type: research