Clinico epidemiological studies on rabies in Punjab

Rabies is the most important and feared zoonotic disease for which a five year study was conducted from January 2000 to December 2004 at Rabies Research-cum-Diagnostic Laboratory, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India, with a view to investigate epidemiological and diagnostic variations in different species of animals. The study was conducted on brain tissues collected from 151 dogs, 121 buffaloes, 55 cows and 30 wild species. Out of the 357 suspected cases, 53.22% were found positive for rabies. Among the various species of animals, the maximum rabies cases were found in dogs (42.10%) followed by buffaloes (33.68%), cows (17.89%) and wild animals (6.31%). Increased incidence was observed during January to July and August to October. In buffaloes and cows, anorexia, salivation and bellowing were most consistent features. Rabid buffaloes could recognize their owners better (48%) than cows could (38%) while rabid dogs could recognize their owners the most (55%). The accumulated history records revealed that 81% of rabid dogs were not vaccinated prophylactically.