Epidemiology of human rabies in Lianzhou city, Guangdong province, 2000 - 2009

Objective To analyze the epidemiological characteristics human rabies and related factors in Lianzhou, and explore the effective prevention and control measures. Methods The descriptive epidemiological analysis was conducted on the epidemic data and case survey of human rabies in Lianzhou from 2000 to 2009. Results A total of 41 cases of human rabies were reported during this period with annual incidence of 0.86/lakh. The lowest incidence was found in 2001 (0.20/lakh), and the highest incidence was found in 2007 (3.15/lakh). The epidemic spread in 83.33% of townships in Lianzhou, and most cases occurred in rural area. The incidence of the disease peaked during September-November, most cases were farmers, students and children outside child care settings. The male to female ratio of the cases was 1.73 ∶ 1. Dog was the main infectious source, followed by cat, which were neither immunized nor with known immune history. Up to 88.57% of the cases received no postexposure wound treatment and vaccination, and no case was immunized with anti-rabies serum or immunoglobulin. Conclusion The increase of human rabies cases in Lianzhou was due to the low postexposure wound treatment and vaccination rate, and low dog immunization rate. It is necessary to fully carry out the comprehensive prevention and control of human rabies.