Community knowledge, attitude and practice on rabies, incidence in humans and animals and risk factors to rabies in selected districts of Tigray Region, Ethiopia

Community awareness and assessing the trend of suspected rabies cases play a significant role in preventing its fatality. Therefore, a cross-sectional study design was employed (October 2016 - April 2017) to assess community knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP), and Incidence and risk factors to rabies (human and animal) in the study area. A semi-structured questionnaire was employed to collect required information from 1440 study participants. Retrospective data of five-year (2012-2016) from hospitals and health centers (human cases), and veterinary clinics (animal cases) was used. Majority of the study participants (64.3%) were rural residents, 95.2% have heard about rabies and 50.1% were found dog owners. Among the study participants, 72.2%, 66.0%, and 62.4% have a good level of knowledge, attitude, and practices about rabies, respectively. A strong association between knowledge, attitude and practice with sex; educational level; occupation, dog ownership and rural/urban dwellers (p<0.05) was recorded. Furthermore, a total dog bite cases of 398 domestic animals and 4617 humans were found registered on casebooks of both veterinary and human health service centers of the study districts during the five years study period among which the highest percentage (36.4%) was recorded from canines. The highest anti-rabies vaccine coverage recorded was 36.0% in the year 2016, and higher human dog bite cases recorded was 50.1% on individuals aged between 5-15 years (both male and female). Hence, the current findings suggest that there is a need for coordinated and integrated effort of government, professionals (medical and veterinarians), community and other stake holders towards rabies control and prevention.Keywords: Animal, Human, Tigray, Rabies, Statu

Conventional tree height-diameter relationships significantly overestimate aboveground carbon stocks in the Central Congo Basin

Policies to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation largely depend on accurate estimates of tropical forest carbon stocks. Here we present the first field-based carbon stock data for the Central Congo Basin in Yangambi, Democratic Republic of Congo. We find an average aboveground carbon stock of 162 +/- 20 Mg C ha(-1) for intact old-growth forest, which is significantly lower than stocks recorded in the outer regions of the Congo Basin. The best available tree height-diameter relationships derived for Central Africa do not render accurate canopy height estimates for our study area. Aboveground carbon stocks would be overestimated by 24% if these inaccurate relationships were used. The studied forests have a lower stature compared with forests in the outer regions of the basin, which confirms remotely sensed patterns. Additionally, we find an average soil carbon stock of 111 +/- 24 Mg C ha(-1), slightly influenced by the current land-use change