Epidemiology of rabies and control suggestions in less developed Lyuliang mountain area between Shanxi and Shaanxi

ObjectiveTo understand the epidemiological characteristics of rabies in impoverished Lyuliang mountain area between Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces, find out the problems in rabies prevention and control, and provide reasonable suggestions for the prevention, control and elimination of rabies.

MethodsDescriptive epidemiological method is used to analyze the rabies surveillance data in Lyuliang mountain area from 2008 to 2018 collected from the Information Management System of Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Excel 2003 was used for data entry.

ResultsFrom 2008 to 2018, a total of 23 rabies cases were reported in this area. The cases were distributed in 11 counties, the cases mainly occurred from May to November, and most cases were aged 45–65 years, and the male to female ratio of cases was 2.83∶1. The cases in farmers accounted for 86.96% of the total.

ConclusionThe incidence of rabies showed obvious seasonal, area and population distribution characteristics in this area. Moreover, problems existed in local rabies surveillance system, local people had insufficient hazard awareness and heavy burden vaccination costs. Because farmer is populations at high risk for rabies, it is necessary to strengthen the rabies prevention and control in less developed areas for the better implementation of rabies elimination.