Epidemiological features and analysis on the human rabies in China in 2005

Objective The study was to analyze the surveillance data of rabies in China in 2005 and describe the epidemiological features of rabies in order to find the key strategies and measures for its prevention and control．Methods Epidemiological description and analysis were made on the data from Internet-based National Notifiable Infectious Diseases Reporting System and national rabies surveillance sentinels．Results A rapid increase in the incidence of rabies was found in China in the past several years．A total of 2537 cases were reported，predominantly distributed in Guizhou,Guangxi and Hunan,etc.The young and middle-aged male peasants were predominantly affected．The individual case study indicated that as high as 38.3％-65.8％ of the cases didn'thave their wound treated．Only 16.6％-35.0％vaccinated and 1.2％-16.6％injected with antiserum．Conclusion The incidence of human rabies increased rapidly with a serious epidemic situation．The main factor leading to increased epidemic ale nonstandard post-exposure prophylaxis，vaccine inoculation and antiserum injection．The authorities concemed should strengthen cooperation to explore practical strategies and measures for rabies prevention and control to stop the rapid increase of rabies．