Retrospective Cohort Study to Assess the Risk of Rabies in Biting Dogs, 2013–2015, Republic of Haiti

Abstract

Vaccination of all persons exposed to a suspected rabid dog is a highly effective approach to minimize human rabies deaths. However, this may place undue financial burden on bite victims that have had a low-risk exposure and over-prescription may contribute to regional supply shortages. The results here indicate that in a low-resource country such as Haiti, a well-trained veterinary assessor can provide an accurate risk assessment of biting dogs based on a standard case investigation protocol. In canine rabies endemic countries with limited access to PEP, or where PEP costs may cause undue burden on bite victims, structured risk assessments by trained professionals may be a reliable method of triaging PEP for bite victims. Evaluating rabies risk through a matrix of bite location and risk factor in the dog presents a clear delineation of high and low risk encounters and should be used to develop data-derived PEP recommendations.