







































Highlights in Bioscience;


 
Highlights in BioScience             

ISSN: 2682-4043 

DOI:10.36462/H.BioSci.20212                                                                                                          
 

 

Highlights in BioScience                                                                                                                                                                           July 2020| Volume 3 

http://bioscience.highlightsin.org/ 

Page 1 of 7 

                                          

Research Article 

 

Open Access 

 
 

 

 

 

1Zoonotic Disease Research Team, Ethiopian 

Public Health Institute, Addis Ababa, 

Ethiopia. 
2 Department of Public Health, St. Paul’s 

Hospital Millennium Medical College, Addis 

Ababa, Ethiopia. 
3Vaccine and Diagnostics Production 

Directorate, Ethiopian Public Health Institute, 

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 
 4Veterinary Public Health Directorate, Ministry 

of Agriculture, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 
5Public Health Emergency Management 

Directorate, Ethiopian Public Health Institute, 

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  

6Public Health Emergency Management 

Directorate, Health Bureau of SNNP, 

Hawassa, Ethiopia. 
7Deputy Director General Office/RTT, 

Ethiopian Public Health Institute, Addis 

Ababa, Ethiopia. 

 

Contacts of Authors  

 

* To whom correspondence should be 

addressed: Yimer Mulugeta 

 

Citation: Mulugeta Y, Lombamo F, Alemu A, 

Bekele M, Assefa Z, Shibru E, Beyene M, 

kitila G, Getahun G, Sifer D, Aklilu M, 

Regassa F, and Deressa A (2020). Assessment 

of the current rabies situation and its 

management in epidemic areas of southern 

Ethiopia. Highlights in BioScience Volume 3. 

Article ID 20212. dio:10.36462/H.BioSci.202 

12 

Received:  May 20, 2020 

 

Accepted:  July 12, 2020 

 

Published: July 14, 2020 
 

Copyright: © 2020 Mulugeta et al. This is an 

open access article distributed under the terms 

of the Creative Commons Attribution License, 

which permits unrestricted use, distribution, 

and reproduction in any medium, provided the 

original author and source are credited. 

 

Data Availability Statement: All relevant data 

are within the paper and supplementary 

materials 

Funding: The authors have no support or 

funding to report. 

Competing interests: The authors declare that 

they have no competing interests. 

Assessment of the current rabies situation and its 

management in epidemic areas of southern Ethiopia 

 
Yimer Mulugeta

1
*, Fantu Lombamo

2
, Anberber Alemu

3
, Meseret Bekele

4
, 

Zewdu Assefa
5
, Endashaw Shibru

6
, Mekoro Beyene

3
, Gutu kitila

1
, Garoma 

Getahun
1
, Desalegn Sifer

1
, Mesfin Aklilu

1
, Feyesa Regassa

5
, and Asefa 

Deressa
7
 

 

Abstract 

         Rabies infection is almost always a 100% lethal viral disease in all 

mammals, including humans. Although rabies is vaccine preventable 

disease, more than 60,000 people worldwide, and 2,700 people in 

Ethiopia die of fatal human rabies annually. The aim of this study was to 

generate strategic information on the extent of the burden of rabies and 

the existing major response strategies, in order to overcome and bring 

attention to the management of rabies outbreaks. Cross - sectional study 

design was used to assess the current situation of rabies burden in  the 

Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Regional States of 

Ethiopia. Data analysis revealed a total of 16 fatal human rabies and 287 

suspected rabies exposures. The highest attack rate of 116.3 cases per 

100,000 human subjects was reported in Tembaro woreda. As a result, 48 

animal deaths of rabies have been reported, while cattle (28) have been 

more affected than other animal species. The lack of dog immunization, 

lack of community awareness of dog management, and inaccessibility 

and inefficiency of anti - rabies vaccines were major risk factors 

associated with the spread of rabies exposure between humans and 

animals. In conclusion, this study has clearly shown that both the 

existence and the high magnitude of fatal human and animal rabies are 

significant in the area. Multidisciplinary approach interventions to 

increase community awareness of dog vaccination, effective and 

immediate treatment of exposed individuals is recommended as a method 

of disease control and prevention.        

 

Keywords: Animal, anti-rabies, human, outbreak, rabies exposure, SNNP. 

 

Introduction  

Rabies exposure can always be either 100% fatal or 100% preventable 

double burden viral disease here in Ethiopia and around the world. Rabies 

exposure is 100% fatal, once a clinical symptom has been developed, even if it is 

characterized by a long incubation period of 2–3 months on average, but may 

vary from 1 week to 1 year depending on factors such as location of entry and 

viral load, short disease duration and death within 7 to 10 days of onset of clinical 

symptoms [1]. While rabies exposure is a 100% preventable disease with 

effective treatment soon after exposure to rabies, and may even be eradicated if 

government and donor attention is given to developing a control program/strategy 

and regulatory system to promote control of rabies in dogs as a key strategy for 

controlling rabies in humans through sustained dog vaccination programs.  

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/


 

 

Mulugeta et al., 2020                                                                             Assessment of the current rabies situation and its management in Southern Ethiopia. 

 

 

Highlights in BioScience                                                                                                                                                                           July 2020| Volume 3 

http://bioscience.highlightsin.org/ 

Page 2 of 7 

Thus, the management and registration of the dog 

population, community awareness and cooperation of all 

stakeholders improve the cost - effectiveness of vaccination 

intervention as a key measure [2-4]. 

 Globally, the burden of fatal human rabies is that 

60,000 people die every year; almost 99% of human rabies 

exposure is caused by dogs. About 95% of death occurs in 

developing countries, particularly in Africa and Asia [5]. In 

developing countries, successful zoonoses are difficult to 

prevent and control, some of the main factors being 

zoonoses such as rabies that are neglected, under-reported, 

joint multi-sectoral preparedness and response interventions 

that remain unsatisfactory due to gaps in the legal 

framework. Other factors attributing  to rabies exposure 

include failure of dog immunization, abundantly free 

roaming dogs, and insufficient government attention, which 

may be due to underreporting of cases and lack of 

community awareness. Children's and poor rural 

communities have a significant impact on the risk of rabies 

exposure across society, as well as a high gap in access and 

affordability of anti-rabies vaccines [2, 4, 6].  

Rabies is endemic in Ethiopia and places a huge 

burden on the economy and public health. Every year, 2,700 

people in the country die of rabies. While there is no 

regulatory system for the prevention and control of rabies as 

mitigation, so far there is no legislation for the prevention of 

rabies. However, the Ethiopian Public Health Institute / 

EPHI has played a key role in selected country pilot project 

areas in collaboration with various government and 

international partners, as one of the priority activities of the 

Global Health Security Agenda, CDC, OSU, FAO and other 

partners have started working together to build an effective 

national rabies elimination strategy [7, 8]. 

Rabies is underreported in different corners of this 

country. As a result, its impact is underestimated due to 

existing challenges such as the lack of rabies diagnostic 

facilities at least one laboratory at each regional level and 

the lack of awareness-raising activities for health 

professionals and the lack of awareness-raising activities for 

the community. For example, there are different rare reports 

from the Southern Nation, Nationalities and People's 

Regional State (SNNPRS) of Ethiopia on the occurrence of 

rabies exposure (mainly from suspected rabid dogs) in 

humans from different epidemic sites in the regional state. 

Our aim is to (a) assess the outbreak of rabies in both 

humans and animals, and (b) generate strategic information 

on the extent of the burden of rabies and major response to 

informed decisions on the prevention and control of rabies. 

Methods 

Study area description  

The Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' 

Regional State (SNNPRS) is one of the largest and most 

ethnically diverse regions of Ethiopia. Geographically 

located in the southern part of the country surrounding 

Kenya in the south, the Republic of South Sudan in the 

southwest, the State of Gambella in the northwest and the 

State of Oromia in the north and east. The total population 

size of the SNNP is estimated to be 20,767,937 in 2018, of 

which 93.2% of the total population is in rural areas of the 

State. The region is also well known for having more than 

1,5956,100 different livestock populations, 23 species of 

wild animals and 300 species of birds and water resources 

that can be used for fishery, irrigation and hydroelectric 

development. There are seven preserved locations in the 

forest. Forests and bushes cover around 18% of the state [9]. 

Rabies exposures studied were Hawassa Zuria woreda, 

Mareka woreda, Soro woreda, Tembaro woreda, Tercha 

town and Gena Bossa woreda of SNNPRS. Hawassa Zuria is 

located in the Sidama zone; Tembaro is located in the 

Kembata Tembaro zone; Soro is located in the Hadiya zone 

and Tercha, Mareka and Gena Bossa are located in the 

Dawuro zone of SNNPRS, Ethiopia. These areas are the 

focus of numerous wildlife, forests and water resources, 

including the Gilgel Gibe River Basin and the Gilgel Gibe 

III Dam. Its geographical location is shown in (Figure 1). 

Study design  

Cross-sectional study was conducted in selected rabies-

epidemic areas of SNNPRS, Ethiopia. 

Human rabies exposure assessment 

All humans with any animal bite without 

discrimination of the socio-demographic characteristics of 

the victims during the investigation period from July 2017 to 

May 2018. In the case of suspected human rabies exposure 

assessment, bite/exposure of animal history, bite site, date of 

bite, date of admission to the health facility, clinical sign and 

symptom status and outcome of each human exposure 

were addressed. 

Livestock rabies exposure assessment 

All animal species with unusual signs or rabies 

suggestive behavioral changes have been included in this 

particular investigation without discrimination of species, 

immunization status and animal bite history. 

Questionnaire survey  

Semi-structured questionnaires were administered by 

health care providers, primarily those engaged in emergency 

care management at selected SNNPRS health facilities in 

Ethiopia. The main focus areas of the interview and 

observation were all interested emergency health care 

providers who participated in taking time on the mode of 

transmission of rabies, methods of control and prevention, 

and possible ways of managing and diagnosing animal bite 

cases in their health facilities and at the same time 

addressing anti-rabies treatment. 

Anti-rabies handling and utilization assessment 

The anti-rabies vaccine service was assessed by the 

total amount of vaccine available, the storage and 



 

 

Mulugeta et al., 2020                                                                             Assessment of the current rabies situation and its management in Southern Ethiopia. 

 

 

Highlights in BioScience                                                                                                                                                                           July 2020| Volume 3 

http://bioscience.highlightsin.org/ 

Page 3 of 7 

Figure 1. Geographic location of the investigation/study area. 

management of the cold chain, the proper administration and 

the proportion of use. 

Anti-rabies handling and utilization assessment 

The anti-rabies vaccine service was assessed by the 

total amount of vaccine available, the storage and 

management of the cold chain, the proper administration and 

the proportion of use. 

Sampling Technique 

Purposive sampling methods have been used for this 

particular study to address all these rabies-epidemic areas 

based on disease outbreak reports in the study area. 

Data collectors/study team 

Multidisciplinary team first organized by the Ethiopian 

Public Health Institute (EPHI): Public Health Emergency 

Management (PHEM), Zoonotic Disease Research and Anti-

Rabies Vaccine Production directorates, St. Paul's Hospital 

Millennium Medical College and the Ministry of Agriculture 

(former Ministry of Livestock and Fishery Resources) were 

deployed in the hot spot areas of Southern Nations 

Nationalities and Peoples Region (SNNPR). 

Data collection 

Primary and secondary data were collected from public 

health offices, veterinary offices and health facilities through 

key informant interviews and interviews with experts and 

health care providers using standard semi-structured 

questionnaires. Personal observations were made during 

interviews with health care facilities. The deployed team met 

with the SNNPR, PHEM Directorate. The owner of the 

PHEM core process referred to four hot spot areas (Dawuro 

Zone, Kembata Tembaro Zone, Hadiya and Sidama Zone) 

and their prospective woreda areas accordingly. Active 

community and office searches and visits to health facilities 

were conducted as well as the major associated risk factor, 

PEP utilization, laboratory findings and burden assessments 

were also addressed. 

Ethical consideration 

Ethical approval was not obtained from the 

Institutional Review Board, as there were time constraints to 

respond in a timely manner to public health emergency 

management issues. However, the purpose of this study was 

explained to the intended study participants and verbal 

consent was obtained from them before proceeding with the 

study/data collection.  

Data analysis  

Descriptive data from this study from human and 

veterinary health facilities and the community were analyzed 

and reported on the status of rabies outbreaks and human 

and animal burden assessments, major risk factors, PEP 

utilization and laboratory findings. 

Results  

Rabies outbreak status and human burden assessment 

A total of 16 suspected human rabies deaths have been 

reported from Tercha General Hospital, Mudula Primary 

Hospital, Bushillo, Gimbicho and Jacho Health Centers in 

public health facilities. Analysis of secondary data revealed 

a total of 287 suspected rabies exposures that had been 

observed during the follow-up of anti-rabies in these sites 

during the investigation period. Of the 16 suspected deaths 

of human rabies, 9 were male and 7 were female. The site of 

the bite / exposure to the human victims was the leg, finger, 

lip and arm. Domestic dogs were responsible for all human 

exposure, as detailed in (Table 1). 



 

 

Mulugeta et al., 2020                                                                             Assessment of the current rabies situation and its management in Southern Ethiopia. 

 

 

Highlights in BioScience                                                                                                                                                                           July 2020| Volume 3 

http://bioscience.highlightsin.org/ 

Page 4 of 7 

Table 1. Suspected fatal human rabies case scenario from investigation sites of SNNP, Ethiopia. 

S.N Age Sex Woreda/Site Date of bite 
Site of 

exposure 

Exposin

g animal 

Duration after 

exposure 
Remark  

1 13 Female Tembaro November 16, 2017 Leg Dog  3 months  

2 28 Male  Tembaro January 20, 2018 Finger Dog 3 months 
Came to HF with clinical 

signs 

3 7 Female Tembaro September 27, 2017 Leg  Dog 3 months 
Death after 6 days of 

onset of illness 

4 5 Male Tembaro February 13, 2018 Leg  Dog 2 months After 7 days of illness 

5 60 Female Tembaro January 23, 2018 Finger Dog 3 months After 5 days of illness 

6 7 Male Tembaro January 17,2018 Lip Dog 2 months took 15 doses and died 

7 56 Male Tembaro January 25, 2018 Leg Dog 2 months 
Came to HF with clinical 

signs 

8 - Male Soro    Leg Dog  

Was referred to Mudulla 

hospital after onset of 

clinical sign and died 

9 - Male Tembaro   Lip Dog  
Died after 12th dose of 

NTV 

10 14 Male  Mareka December 25, 2017 unknown Dog 2 months  

11 7 Female Mareka    Arm  Dog  
6 cattle died after being 

bitten by the same dog 

12 46 Female Soro March 18, 2017 Leg Dog 1 months  

13 28 Male Soro January 8, 2018 Leg Dog 3 months  

14 16 Female Mareka   Finger   Cat   

15 27 Female Hawassa zuria March 12, 2018 leg Dog Initially diagnosed as typhoid fever and was 

being managed with ceftriaxone 
16 21 Male Hawassa zuria    Dog 

 

The highest rate of rabies exposure was reported from 

Tembaro woreda (116.3 per 100,000 population at risk); 

55.3, 13.6, 12.1, 5.4 per 100,000 population at risk attack 

rates were reported in Hawassa Zuria woreda, Mareka 

woreda, Soro woreda and Gena Bossa woreda, respectively. 

Rabies outbreak status and burden assessments in 

animals 

During the investigation period, 48 animal rabies 

deaths were detected and 28 cattle, 12 goats, 5 sheep and 3 

equines were identified. Death report due to suspected 

rabies in the dog was not counted as a result of dog 

elimination activity conducted using strychnine. Of these 

human-exposed dogs, only 10 rabies-suspected samples 

were submitted to the National Rabies Laboratory of the 

Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI). Of the total 

samples, 80% were positive for rabies virus infection, and 

dogs were the most biting / exposing animals for animals 

and human victims during the time and area of investigation, 

as shown in (Figure 2). 

Major contributing risk factors for rabies outbreak in 

place 

Summary of the major associated risk factors for the 

occurrence and spread of rabies exposure among humans 

and animals has been identified. 

Absence of dog immunization and lack of community 

awareness of dog management 

In this investigation, the engaged community is once 

remote from rural areas and keeps the dog on guard for 

reasons of lack of awareness of the possibility of disease 

transmission. All respondents responded that they had a 

single dog (47%) or more than one dog (53%), and their 

dogs were free to move to the surrounding area (free 

roaming dog) and no history of deworming and/or 

vaccination of dogs. The absence of immunization for dogs 

has also been reported by the livestock sector, which has 

created a chance for the occurrence and spread of rabies 

exposure by addressing multiple factors such as community 

ignorance, unaffordable cost of anti-rabies vaccine for dogs 

and little government attention. 

 
Figure 2. Rabies exposure Laboratory findings and human 

victims by animal bite during investigation time and area 

(SNNP). 



 

 

Mulugeta et al., 2020                                                                             Assessment of the current rabies situation and its management in Southern Ethiopia. 

 

 

Highlights in BioScience                                                                                                                                                                           July 2020| Volume 3 

http://bioscience.highlightsin.org/ 

Page 5 of 7 

Challenges on anti-rabies vaccine and inadequate 

human rabies exposure management 
Inaccessibility and unavailability of cell culture anti-

rabies vaccine (modern vaccine by the National 

Pharmaceutical Supply Agency) and shortage of nerve tissue 

vaccine (old anti-rabies) human anti-rabies vaccine have 

been observed (Figure 3). Although vaccine shortages have 

occurred, consistent cold chain management problems have 

also been observed in health facilities. In fact, the nerve 

tissue (old anti-rabies PEP) anti-rabies vaccine production 

capacity of EPHI has so far not met the demand for and 

severely affected the required response to deadly diseases. 

 
Figure 3. Coverage of anti-rabies vaccine in SNNP before 

the investigation date of the fiscal year. 

Inadequate heath care provider’s knowledge and skill at 

those health facilities 

The opinion and level of knowledge and skills of 

healthcare professionals in the area of rabies exposure 

management with selected HFs were assessed on the basis of 

their interest in semi-structured self-governing interviewers. 

We found that, 46.6 % (14/30) of the respondents had 

knowledge of the mode of transmission via saliva from 

suspected animal bites, in particular dog bites (Table 2). 

 

Ecological factors for increased spillover 

The existence of natural forests, mountains and rivers 

such as the Gilgel Gibe river basin has created a suitable 

environment for the occurrence and spread of rabies 

exposure , especially the over filling of the Gilgel Gibe III 

dam, which plays a significant role in displacing the normal 

habitat of wildlife for interaction and co-existence with 

domestic animals and peoples. Dogs, cats, foxes and 

donkeys were among the most frequently exposed animals 

found during the investigation. Increased interaction of wild 

life with dogs and high prevalence of free roaming dogs 

were considered risk factors for increased exposure to 

rabies.

Table 2. Opinion of healthcare providers and their inadequate knowledge and skill on human rabies exposure management.  

Variables Category Frequencies Proportion 

Sex of Respondents 
Male 18 60 

Female 12 40 

Respondents HF 

Tercha GH(Dawuro) 16 53 

Gimbichu & jacho HC 11 37 

Mudula Hospital  3 10 

Is rabies a major problem in your HF 
Yes 24 80 

No 6 20 

Knowledge & skill of health care providers on mode of 

transmission  

Yes 14 47 

No 16 53 

Knowledge & skill on Clinical  signs/symptoms in human 
Yes 20 67 

No 10 33 

Throughout the year rabies exposure  occurrence 
Yes 25 83 

No 5 17 

Is there any preventing & control guideline/legislation 
Yes 5 17 

No 25 83 

Which control option do you use 

Health Education (HE) 14 47 

Anti-rabies vaccination (PEP) 12 40 

All options HE, PEP & wound Mg’t 4 13 

After exposure where they go? 

Health facility 24 80 

Traditional Healer 4 13 

Other 1 3 

what are the major challenges of human rabies exposure 

lack of regular animal rabies control 

activity (ARC) 
6 20 

lack of community awareness(CA) 14 47 

lack of training(TOT)  3 10 

Combination factors of above  5 17  

 



 

 

Mulugeta et al., 2020                                                                             Assessment of the current rabies situation and its management in Southern Ethiopia. 

 

 

Highlights in BioScience                                                                                                                                                                           July 2020| Volume 3 

http://bioscience.highlightsin.org/ 

Page 6 of 7 

Discussion  

Rabies is one of the most neglected tropical and 

zoonotic diseases with an increasing trend in human burden 

[10]. This investigation revealed a high rate of rabies and its 

exposure in humans and animals and a lack of immunization 

in dogs compared to studies reported in the Ethiopian 

Rabies Review (1990 to 2000) in which a total of 322 

human deaths were reported [11]. There is also another 

annual estimate of 2700 human deaths in 2017 [7], which 

has shown an increasing burden on public health and still 

needs to be addressed in order to achieve the global rabies 

elimination program 'zero rabies in humans' by 2030 [1,12].       

In this study, fatal human and animal rabies of 16 and 

48 were found mainly due to rabies-specific symptoms and 

epidemiological factors, as the standards of rabies diagnostic 

methods could not be applied. This is due to the lack of 

standardized laboratory settings and the difficult nature of 

rabies cases of CNS in suspected human rabies exposure.  

This study found the highest rates of attack in Tembaro 

woreda with 116.3 cases per 100,000 human population, 

followed by 55.3 cases in Hawassa Zuria woreda, 13.6 cases 

in Mareka woreda, 12.1 cases in Soro woreda, and 5.4 cases 

in Gena Bossa woreda per 100,000 population at risk of 

attack. This finding is considerably higher than that of 2.33 

cases per 100,000 human population in northern Gondar, 

Ethiopia [13]. 

Overall, human rabies exposure in this investigation 

has been admitted to the health care facility too late and 

varies from area to area for an average of 2-3 months from 

the date of bite or after onset of clinical symptoms as 

described in (Table 1). This was due to the high perceptions 

of local people in that country and the widespread use of 

traditional medicine among the urban and rural population 

of Ethiopia could be attributed to cultural acceptability, 

physical accessibility and economic affordability compared 

to modern medicine [14]. A high free roaming dog 

population with a never-vaccination history and a high level 

of wildlife interaction was identified as an existing fueling 

factor for rabies outbreaks. This finding is consistent with 

the findings reported by Admassu and Mekonnen that, in 

2014 in the same country, a large number of dogs in both 

urban and rural settings and a low vaccination risk of rabies 

circulation and spread to humans and other domestic animal 

populations [14]. 

In order to manage this burden of human rabies 

exposure in the SNNP region, a lack of anti-rabies vaccine 

was observed during the investigation, and EPHI distributed 

a total of 4305 rabies post-exposure prophylaxis per 10 

months until the investigation was conducted to protect the 

public. The Dawuro and Kembata Tembaro zones reported 

the highest levels of exposure to rabies and human fatal 

cases of rabies, but vaccine coverage was 42 and 68, 

respectively. This result is in agreement with the findings 

reported by Abraham in this country [15]. 

This sample was tested in a national rabies laboratory 

for laboratory analysis of 10 suspected animal brain tissue 

samples, 80 per cent of which were positive for Rabies. All 

of the positive samples were from the dog. Samples 

submitted to the national rabies laboratory were only ten, 

due to a number of reasons such as lack of regional 

laboratory facilities in the area; lack of awareness was a key 

factor due to remote rural communities. 

The World Health Organization recommends that at 

least 70% of the dog population be vaccinated to control and 

potentially eliminate human-mediated rabies in dogs [16]. In 

this study, no organized dog vaccination activity was 

performed, instead of vaccination, by the community in 

communication with local authorities to overcome dog bite 

and rabies exposure in humans and animals. The reason for 

the elimination of dogs was due to inaccessibility and 

unaffordability of the anti-rabies vaccine and high free 

roaming dog population. 

As a limitation, although the main objective of this 

study is to respond to rabies outbreaks, there are no 

estimates of the sample size to include all study participants 

and standard confirmatory tests in human and animal 

subjects. Some suspected human rabies death data have not 

yet been completed and a documentary system has been 

recorded. 

Conclusion and Recommendation  

This study team detected cases of human and animal 

fatal rabies in the community and at selected public health 

facilities in SNNP, Ethiopia, in 2018. The team verified the 

occurrence of an outbreak of rabies exposure. The multi-

sectoral and multi-disciplinary "one heath approach" has 

been seen as very critical in addressing such burdens in the 

human and animal domains. Poor collaboration between 

sectors, inaccessibility/shortness of anti-rabies vaccines and 

community awareness gaps have been identified as major 

challenges. High free roaming and unvaccinated dog 

populations as well as high interactions with wildlife were 

also observed. On the basis of the above conclusion, the 

following recommendations are forwarded: 

 

1. Awareness-creation and social mobilization programs 

and events related to rabies problems should be 

undertaken through the use of different media and other 

tools for the Community, health professionals and policy 

makers. 

2. Communication and collaboration between the human 

and animal professions should be encouraged for an 

effective system of surveillance, control and prevention 

of rabies exposure. 



 

 

Mulugeta et al., 2020                                                                             Assessment of the current rabies situation and its management in Southern Ethiopia. 

 

 

Highlights in BioScience                                                                                                                                                                           July 2020| Volume 3 

http://bioscience.highlightsin.org/ 

Page 7 of 7 

3. Mass vaccination of dogs, the prevention of free 

movement of dogs and contact with wild life and the 

management of dog populations should be carried out in 

order to achieve zero rabies in humans and animals. 

4. The availability and affordability of the anti-rabies 

vaccine (PEP) for humans and dogs should be addressed 

with national and international partners. 

5. Quality cell culture anti-rabies vaccine must be available 

and accessible to the affected community as a whole. 

Acknowledgement  

We would like to thank the members of our Health and 

Veterinary Office and health care providers from the 

respective areas and districts of Sidama (Hawassa Zuria), 

Hadiya (Soro), Kembata-Tembaro (Tembaro) and Dawuro 

(Mareka and Gena Bossa) for their valuable support, advice 

and guidance in boosting this work. We also recognize the 

contributions of our driver, Mr Shimeles, and all those 

individuals who have given up their time to participate. 

 

Authors' Contributions  

YM was responsible for the study, collection and analysis of 

the data and wrote the manuscript. FL, AA, MY, ZA, ES, 

MB, contributed to the collection of data, the study 

methodology and the co-writing of the manuscript. GK, 

GG, DS and MA have contributed to laboratory work and 

guidance. FR and AD contributed to the revision and editing 

of manuscripts. The final manuscript was read and approved 

by all authors. 

References 

1. WHO. Rabies fact sheet.https://www.who.int/news-

room/fact-sheats/detail/rabies 2019 [cited 2019 May 21]. 

2. Takahashi-Omoe H, Omoe K, Okabe N. Regulatory 

systems for prevention and control of rabies, Japan. 

Emerging infectious diseases. 2008 Sep;14(9):1368. 

3. FAO, Developing a stepwise approach for rabies 

prevention and control. Proceedings of the FAO/GARC 

Workshop, November 2012, Rome, Italy. FAO Animal 

Production and Health Proceedings, 2013. 18. 

4. WHO, WHO expert consultation on rabies: Frist report, in 

Technical report series 2005, WHO: Geneva. 

5. Undurraga EA, Blanton JD, Thumbi SM, Mwatondo A, 

Muturi M, Wallace RM. Tool for eliminating dog-

mediated human rabies through mass dog vaccination 

campaigns. Emerging infectious diseases. 2017 

Dec;23(12):2114. 

6. Oyda S, Megersa B. A review of rabies in livestock and 

humans in ethiopia. International Journal of Research - 

Granthaalayah, 2017. 5(6): 561-577. 

7. CDC. Rabies in Ethiopia. World Rabies Day, Prevent 

Rabies around the World  2017. 

8. Deressa A, Ali A, Bayene M, Selassie BN, Yimer E, 

Hussen K. The status of rabies in Ethiopia: A 

retrospective record review. Ethiopian Journal of Health 

Development. 2010;24(2). 

9. Adugna A, SNNPR, Southern Nations Nationalities and 

Peoples Demography and Health. Ethiodemography and 

health, 2018. 

10. FAO/OIE/WHO, Inter-agency meeting on planning NZDS 

prevention and control. 2011. 

11. Moges N. Rabies in Ethiopia: review article. Academic 

Journal of Animal Diseases. 2015;4(2):74-81. 

12. Wallace RM, Undurraga EA, Blanton JD, Cleaton J, 

Franka R. Elimination of dog-mediated human rabies 

deaths by 2030: needs assessment and alternatives for 

progress based on dog vaccination. Frontiers in veterinary 

science. 2017 Feb 10;4:9. 

13. Jemberu WT, Molla W, Almaw G, Alemu S. Incidence of 

rabies in humans and domestic animals and people's 

awareness in North Gondar Zone, Ethiopia. PLoS Negl 

Trop Dis. 2013 May 9;7(5):e2216. 

14. Admasu P, Mekonnen Y. Rabies and its Folk Drugs 

Remedies in Ethiopia: A Review. International Journal of 

Basic and Applied Virology. 2014;3(2):22-7. 

15. Abraham A, Daddi J, Milliyon W, Almaz A, Fikir T. 

National surveillance for human rabies cases. In: impact, 

limitation and needs in developing countries. Ethiopian 

health and Nutrition Research Institute, 2010. 

16. WHO, WHO  Expert  Consultation  on  Rabies:  Third  

report. WHO Technical Report Series, No. 1012. Licence: 

CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO, 2018. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


