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EcoHealth 11, 343355, 2014
DOI: 10.1007/s10393-014-0923-1
2014 International Association for Ecology and Health
Original Contribution
Characterizing Rabies Epidemiology in Remote Inuit Communities in Qubec, Canada: A One Health Approach
Ccile Aenishaenslin,1,2 Audrey Simon,1,2 Taya Forde,3 Andr Ravel,1,2 Jean-Franois Proulx,4 Christine Fehlner-Gardiner,5 Isabelle Picard,6 and Denise Blanger1,2
1Groupe international vtrinaire, Facult de mdecine vtrinaire, Universit de Montral, 3200 Sicotte, C.P. 5000, Saint-Hyacinthe, QC J2S 7C6, Canada
2Groupe de recherche en pidmiologie des zoonoses et sant publique, Facult de mdecine vtrinaire, Universit de Montral, 3200 Sicotte, C.P. 5000, Saint-Hyacinthe, QC J2S 7C6, Canada
3Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
4Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services, C.P. 900, Kuujjuaq, QC J0M 1C0, Canada
5Centre of Expertise for Rabies, Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), 3851 Falloweld Road, Ottawa, ON K2H 8P9, Canada
6Ministre de lAgriculture des Pcheries et de lAlimentation du Qubec (MAPAQ), 200 chemin Sainte-Foy, Qubec, QC G1R 4X6, Canada Abstract: Rabies is endemic throughout arctic areas including the region of Nunavik, situated north of the55th parallel of Qubec, Canada, and raises public health concerns. The aim of this paper is to provide a descriptive overview of the temporal and regional distributions of three important components of arctic rabiesin Nunavik from 1999 to 2012, following a One Health approach: animal rabies tests and conrmed cases,dog vaccination, and human consultations for potential rabies exposures. Forty-four cases of rabies, involvingmainly arctic and red foxes, were conrmed in animals during this period. The mean number of dogs vaccinated per 1,000 inhabitants was highly variable and lower in the Hudson region than the Ungava region.112 consultations for potential rabies exposure were analyzed, of which 24 were exposure to a laboratory conrmed rabid animal. Children less than 10 years of age were the age group most commonly exposed. Themedian time between potential exposure and administration of the rst post-exposure prophylaxis dose wasfour days. This study conrms that the risk of human exposure to rabid animals in Nunavik is present and underlines the need to follow a One Health approach to prevent rabies in humans in similar contexts worldwide.
Keywords: Arctic, dog, fox rabies, one health, wildlife, zoonoses
INTRODUCTION
Rabies is endemic throughout most parts of the Arctic, including northern Canada (north...