Ranging patterns and factors associated with movement in free-roaming domestic dogs in urban Malawi.

Autor: De la Puente-Arévalo M; Independent Consultant Madrid Spain., Motta P; European Commission for the Control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease FAO Rome Italy., Dürr S; Veterinary Public Health Institute, Vetsuisse Faculty University of Bern Bern Switzerland., Warembourg C; Veterinary Public Health Institute, Vetsuisse Faculty University of Bern Bern Switzerland., Nikola C; Mission Rabies Cranborne UK., Burdon-Bailey J; Mission Rabies Cranborne UK., Mayer D; Mission Rabies Cranborne UK., Lohr F; Mission Rabies Cranborne UK., Gibson AD; Mission Rabies Cranborne UK., Chikungwa P; Department of Animal Health and Livestock Development Lilongwe Malawi., Chulu J; Department of Animal Health and Livestock Development Lilongwe Malawi., Gamble L; Mission Rabies Cranborne UK., Anderson NE; The Roslin Institute and The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, Easter Bush Veterinary Centre University of Edinburgh Midlothian UK., Bronsvoort BMD; The Epidemiology, Economics and Risk Assessment Group, The Roslin Institute and The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, Easter Bush Veterinary Centre The University of Edinburgh Midlothian UK., Mellanby RJ; Division of Veterinary Clinical Studies, Hospital for Small Animals, The Roslin Institute and The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, Easter Bush Veterinary Centre The University of Edinburgh Midlothian UK., Mazeri S; Mission Rabies Cranborne UK.; The Epidemiology, Economics and Risk Assessment Group, The Roslin Institute and The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, Easter Bush Veterinary Centre The University of Edinburgh Midlothian UK.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Ecology and evolution [Ecol Evol] 2022 Jan 27; Vol. 12 (1), pp. e8498. Date of Electronic Publication: 2022 Jan 27 (Print Publication: 2022).
DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8498
Abstrakt: Rabies is a neglected zoonotic disease that causes around 59,000 deaths per year globally. In Africa, rabies virus is mostly maintained in populations of free-roaming domestic dogs (FRDD) that are predominantly owned. Characterizing the roaming behavior of FRDD can provide relevant information to understand disease spread and inform prevention and control interventions. To estimate the home range (HR) of FRDD and identify predictors of HR size, we studied 168 dogs in seven different areas of Blantyre city, Malawi, tracking them with GPS collars for 1-4 days. The median core HR (HR50) of FRDD in Blantyre city was 0.2 ha (range: 0.08-3.95), while the median extended HR (HR95) was 2.14 ha (range: 0.52-23.19). Multivariable linear regression models were built to identify predictors of HR size. Males presented larger HR95 than females. Dogs living in houses with a higher number of adults had smaller HR95, while those living in houses with higher number of children had larger HR95. Animals that received products of animal origin in their diets had larger HR95, and only in the case of females, animals living in low-income areas had larger HR50 and HR95. In contrast, whether male dogs were castrated or not was not found to be associated with HR size. The results of this study may help inform rabies control and prevention interventions in Blantyre city, such as designing risk-based surveillance activities or rabies vaccination campaigns targeting certain FRDD subpopulations. Our findings can also be used in rabies awareness campaigns, particularly to illustrate the close relationship between children and their dogs.
Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
(© 2022 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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