The impact of Covid-19 on dogs and cats rabies vaccinal coverage at the municipality of Botucatu-SP

• Grant number: 22/04107-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2022
• End date: May 31, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Preventive Veterinary Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Cassiano Victória
• Grantee: Beatriz Martins Buchignani
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Rabies is one of the oldest and most feared zoonoses, as it has almost 100% lethality. It is estimated that around 59,000 human deaths are caused by rabies worldwide each year, mainly in Africa and Asia. The most efficient measure for the control of urban rabies in animals and in humans is the vaccination of dogs and cats. However, isolated vaccination campaigns have short-lived effects due to the high turnover rate of canine populations. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out campaigns on an annual basis, with high immunization rates and homogeneous vaccine coverage to reduce the incidence of the disease. The Covid-19 pandemic may have compromised rabies vaccination coverage across the country since a large part of the population used annual vaccination campaigns to keep their animals vaccinated. The objective of this proposal is to evaluate the reflection of the covid-19 pandemic on the vaccination coverage of dogs and cats in the city of Botucatu-SP. Questionnaires will be applied to a representative sample of the population of Botucatu that has a dog or cat in order to evaluate the vaccination history of the animals regarding rabies. The data collected in the survey will be tabulated and stored in an electronic spreadsheet, statistically analyzed, and interpreted at a significance level of 5%. The final results will be presented in graphs and tables.(AU)