Faculty of Veterinary Medicine University of Zagreb
Abstract
Over the last decade cases of rabies in animals in Central Europe have decreased. The objective of this study was to analyse the influence of the changing number of laboratory confirmed rabies in animals on post-exposure rabies treatment (PET) of humans in the Republic of Slovenia. This article presents data on the number of PET patients during the period 1992-2001. In the first five years of observation, the ratio between treated patients and laboratory confirmed rabid animals was 1.0 to 3.6 respectively. Over subsequent years this ratio gradually changed to 116.2, falling to 6.3 in 2001. The main carrier of rabies in Slovenia was the red fox, but people were treated for rabies mostly because of being bitten by a dog whose owner was unknown. There was an association between PET patients and animal rabies (correlation coefficient r = 0.77; r2 0.59; 95% confidence limits -0.07 < r2 <0.89). The average number of PET patients was 40.2 per 100,000 inhabitants/year (minimum 30.3, maximum 52.0, sd 6.3) and did not change as significantly as did the number of rabid animals in the same time period. Because of existence of a huge reservoir of rabies virus in animals almost all over the world, local focuses, migration of animals and travellers, bites from animals with unknown owners, and some possibility of importing rabies by pets and other animals, it is difficult to satisfy the need for post-exposure rabies treatment of humans in those regions where rabies in animals are in decline.U posljednjih 10 godina u Središnjoj Europi smanjuje se broj životinja oboljelih od bjesnoće. Istražen je utjecaj smanjenja broja bjesnoće u životinja na opseg postekspozicijske zaštite (PEZ) ljudi u Republici Sloveniji. Istraživanje je obavljeno za razdoblje od 1992. do 2001. godine. U prvoj polovici praćenog razdoblja omjer između vakciniranih osoba i laboratorijski potvrđene bjesnoće iznosio je 1,0 do 3,6. U narednim godinama taj se omjer postupno povećao na 116,2, a do 2001 godine se ponovno smanjio na 6,3. Utvrđena je povezanost izmedju PEZ ljudi i pojave bjesnoće u životinja (r = 0,77; r2 0,59; 95% CI -0,07 < r2 <0,89). Prosječan broj PEZ na godinu bio je 40,2 na 100.000 stanovnika (najmanji 30,3 najveći 52,0) i nije se tako dinamično mijenjao kao broj oboljelih životinja od bjesnoće. Potreban je daljnji nadzor bjesnoće u životinja te PEZ, budući da je rezervoar virusa bjesnoće diljem svijeta izrazito velik, te da postoje lokalna žarišta bjesnoće i u državama koje su bjesnoću gotovo u cijelosti iskorjenile, a i zbog međunarodnog prometa putnika i životinja
