New introduction and spread of rabies among dog population in Bangui

Rabies is endemic in the Central African Republic (CAR) and a neglected enzootic disease which represents a serious public health problem. Before April 2009, rabies was not a notifiable disease in CAR. Vaccination of animals is expensive and not commonly done. In 2005, none rabies case was recorded in Bangui. To understand how rabies was introduced and propagated in the city of Bangui from 2006 to 2008, we analyzed samplings of dog brain as well as reviewed the records of dog owners. A total of 86 out of 101 samples (84.8%) tested positive for rabies virus during this period. Previous phylogenetic analysis of some strains circulating in Bangui between 2006 and 2008 indicated that virus of cosmopolitan and Africa 2 clade are found. Given the time frame and location of these samples, one possible explanation for this alarming result may be that two different strains of rabies virus were introduced at different times in Bangui. Stray dogs are solely responsible for the spread of the epidemic.