Knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding rabies and exposure to bats in two rural communities in Guatemala

David Moran, Patricia Juliao, Danilo Alvarez, Kim A. Lindblade, James A. Ellison, Amy T. Gilbert, Brett Petersen, Charles Rupprecht, Sergio Recuenco

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

21 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: Rabies is a fatal encephalitis caused by rabies virus, of the genus Lyssavirus. The principal reservoir for rabies in Latin America is the common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus), which feeds routinely on the blood of cattle, and when livestock are scarce, may prey on other mammals, including humans. Although rabies is endemic in common vampire bat populations in Guatemala, there is limited research on the extent of exposure to bats among human populations living near bat refuges. Results: A random sample of 270 of 473 households (57%) in two communities located within 2 Km of a known bat roost was selected and one adult from each household was interviewed. Exposure to bats (bites, scratches or bare skin contact) was reported by 96 (6%) of the 1,721 residents among the selected households. Of those exposed, 40% received rabies post-exposure prophylaxis. Four percent of household respondents reported that they would seek rabies post exposure prophylaxis if they were bitten by a bat. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate that exposure to bats in communities near bat roosts is common but recognition of the potential for rabies transmission from bats is low. There is a need for educational outreach to raise awareness of bat-associated rabies, prevent exposures to bats and ensure appropriate health-seeking behaviours for bat-inflicted wounds, particularly among communities living near bat roosts in Guatemala.

Original languageEnglish
Article number955
JournalBMC Research Notes
Volume8
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 14 Dec 2015

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This study was supported by a Technical Support Corps award to C.R. from the CDC Center for Global Health, Global Disease Detection program and Cooperative Agreement Number UO1 GH000028 from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). We thank Ramon Medrano, Aura Paniagua, Jennifer Gray, Freddy Muñoz, Gerard Lopez, Nancy Cruz and Luis Escobar from the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, for support in fieldwork training of staff and data management, and Julio Martinez, from the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Health for supporting us in the visits and making contact with the communities.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Moran et al.; licensee BioMed Central.

Keywords

  • Bat bite
  • Guatemala
  • Health practices
  • Post-exposure prophylaxis
  • Rabies
  • Rabies prevention
  • Vampire bat

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