Johannesburg - Mass vaccination campaigns of 70 percent of dogs could control and possibly eliminate rabies, a Pretoria University professor said on Friday.
“There is clear evidence that 70 percent is sufficient and doable and that this target would have a substantial impact on rabies control,” professor Darryn Knobel said in a statement.
“This was found even in a very dynamic dog population where there is both a high annual birth and death rate.”
Knobel conducted his research in Bushbuckridge in Mpumalanga.
Globally the dog strain of rabies is the most prevalent and the most likely to be transmitted to humans, he said.
Over 90 percent of human cases in Africa are attributed to dog bites.
Around 10 to 30 human cases of rabies were confirmed each year in South Africa and resulted mostly from dog bites.
Knobel presented his research at the 39th World Small Animal Veterinary Association Congress in Cape Town earlier in September. - Sapa