Mapping of dog bite cluster alarms and hotspots of rabies in Monrovia, Liberia, 2010-2013.
Abstract
Liberia on the west coast of Africa is a well known epicentre of rabies at the human-animal-environment interface [1,2]. The status of Liberia as a rabies epicenter in West Africa has been further aggravated by the prolonged civil war of 1989-2003 which remarkably interrupted health care services in the country for over a decade [3,4]. This was again complicated by the outbreak of Ebola virus disease in 2014-2016. A neglected
cycle of endemic-epidemic incidents of dog bite among human victims in the city and its environs has remained a major public health menace. There are indications that some contributory (risk) factors to the cycle include presence of free-roaming largely unvaccinated dogs and a sharp disparity in socio-economic profile of residents of the city [5,6]. The objectives of this study was to map dwelling places of dog bite victims (DBVs) and determine the presence of cluster alarm(s) of dog bite and/or rabies hotspot(s) in Monrovia, the capital city of Liberia.