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© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Introduction: Rabies is caused by a virus belonging to the genus Lyssavirus and family Rhabdoviridae, which can infect any mammal including humans. Hematophagous, fructivorous, and insectivorous bats have become the main reservoir of sylvatic rabies in Latin America. In the sylvatic cycle, hematophagous bats are usually the main reservoir. In contrast, dogs and cats fulfil this critical role in the urban cycle. However, in rural areas, the most affected animals are bovines. They show clinical signs such as behavioural changes, hypersalivation, muscle tremors, spasms caused by extensive damage to the central nervous system, and death from respiratory paralysis. Objective: To describe the spatiotemporal distribution of bovine rabies in Colombia from 2005 to 2019. Methods: Retrospective cross-sectional descriptive observational study, based on the monthly reports of the Colombian Agricultural Institute (ICA) on the surveillance of bovine rabies in Colombia from 2005 to 2019, retrieved from its official website. The data were converted to databases in Microsoft Access 365®. Multiple epidemiological maps were developed with the GIS software Kosmo RC1® 3.0 coupled to the shape files (.shp) of all the country’s municipalities. Results: During the study period, 4888 cases of rabies were confirmed in cattle, ranging from a peak of 542 cases (11.1%) in 2014 to 43 in 2019 (0.88%). From 2014 to 2019, there has been a significant reduction in the annual national number of cases (r2 = 0.9509, p < 0.05). In 2019, 32.6% of the cases occurred in January, and 48.8% occurred in the department of Sucre. In 2009, the maximum number of spatial clusters (13) occurred in the Orinoquia region, where other clusters were also identified in 2005, 2006 and 2008. In 2018, 98 outbreaks were identified that led to the death of cattle and other animals, 28.6% of them in the department of Sucre. In the first half of 2019, of 38 outbreaks, 55.2% were identified in Sucre. Conclusions: It is necessary to review the current national program for the prevention and control of rabies in cattle, incorporating concepts from the ecology of bats, as well as the prediction of contagion waves of geographical and temporal spread in the context of the OneHealth Approach. Sylvatic rabies remains a threat in Colombia that requires further study.

Details

Title
Mapping the Spatiotemporal Distribution of Bovine Rabies in Colombia, 2005–2019
Author
Bonilla-Aldana, D Katterine 1 ; Jimenez-Diaz, S Daniela 2 ; Barboza, Joshuan J 3   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Rodriguez-Morales, Alfonso J 4   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

 Research Unit, Universidad Continental, Huancayo 12000, Peru 
 Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Fundación Universitaria Autónoma de las Américas, Pereira 660003, Risaralda, Colombia 
 Vicerrectorado de Investigación, Universidad Norbert Wiener, Lima 15046, Peru 
 Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Científica del Sur, Lima 15024, Peru; Grupo de Investigación Biomedicina, Faculty of Medicine, Fundación Universitaria Autónoma de las Américas, Pereira 660003, Risaralda, Colombia; Institución Universitaria Visión de las Américas, Pereira 660003, Risaralda, Colombia; Gilbert and Rose-Marie Chagoury School of Medicine, Lebanese American University, Beirut P.O. Box 13-5053, Lebanon 
First page
406
Publication year
2022
Publication date
2022
Publisher
MDPI AG
e-ISSN
24146366
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2756818272
Copyright
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.