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Potential elimination of rabies from Pemba Island, Tanzania

Description

A mobile phone-based surveillance system to support the rabies control program is currently in use across southern Tanzania and was implemented in Pemba since 2011. The system allows for near real-time reporting of information on: patients with animal bites reporting to health facilities that provide post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) to prevent rabies; suspected rabid animal cases submitted by livestock field officers (LFOs); and details of mass dog vaccination campaigns coordinated through each district livestock office. Information from the surveillance system and previous paper-based records on animal bites and suspected rabies cases were used to initiate exhaustive contact tracing investigations using established methodologies (Hampson et al 2008 & 2009). Contact tracing allowed us to identify whether incidents involved healthy or rabid animals, and reveal other human and animal exposures and cases not captured through routine surveillance.

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