Data from: Population dynamics of owned, free-roaming dogs: implications for rabies control ...

• Main Authors: Conan, Anne, Akerele, Oluyemisi, Simpson, Greg, Reininghaus, Bjorn, Van Rooyen, Jacques, Knobel, Darryn
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Dryad 2016
• Subjects: Rabies virus; migration rate; domestic dog; Rabies; Canis familiaris; rabies control; mortality rate; health and demographic surveillance system; vaccination coverage; Canis lupus familiaris; birth rate; population growth rate; critical vaccination threshold; Population ecology; non-specific effects of vaccines; demographics; Canis lupus
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.vq58f; https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.vq58f

Background: Rabies is a serious yet neglected public health threat in resource-limited communities in Africa, where the virus is maintained in populations of owned, free-roaming domestic dogs. Rabies elimination can be achieved through the mass vaccination of dogs, but maintaining the critical threshold of vaccination coverage for herd immunity in these populations is hampered by their rapid turnover. Knowledge of the population dynamics of free-roaming dog populations can inform effective planning and implementation of mass dog vaccination campaigns to control rabies. Methodology/Principal Findings: We implemented a health and demographic surveillance system in dogs that monitored the entire owned dog population within a defined geographic area in a community in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. We quantified demographic rates over a 24-month period, from 1st January 2012 through 1st January 2014, and assessed their implications for rabies control by simulating the decline in vaccination coverage over ... : HDSS-Dogs_SA_2012-2013This dataset presents data from a Health and Demographic Surveillance System in Dogs (HDSS-Dogs) in Hluvukani settlement in Bushbuckridge Local Municipality, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa, from 1st January 2012 through 1st January 2014. Each row represents one residence episode for a dog in a household or ‘stand’ (a plot or parcel of land). Residence episodes within households begin with birth or in-migration (e.g. purchase or receipt of a dog), and terminate with death or out-migration (e.g. sale or gifting of dog to another household). Data collected are all owner-reported, collected by the study team during regular, repeat visits every 4-6 months (‘rounds’) to all households in the demographic surveillance area. ...