Rabies Surveillance Training was Conducted
Rabies surveillance hands-on training was organized at the Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI) from 11th December to 19th December, 2018. The trainees were 25 animal health workers of Addis Ababa Urban Agriculture (AAUAG) selected from all sub-cities of Addis Ababa. The trainers were from Ohio State University (OSU), Global Alliance for Rabies Control (GARC), EPHI and Center for Disease Control (CDC).
The overall objectives of this training were providing a combination of lectures, discussions, classroom activities, hands-on laboratories, and mentored fieldwork. The primary objectives include:
1. Understand the public health response to a bite and the role of Urban Agriculture in managing the animals involved
2. Acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to conduct animal rabies surveillance through the investigation of bites and the quarantine or euthanasia and sample submission for rabies testing.
3. Practice technical skills such as drug calculations, injection techniques, verification of death, sample preparation, interviewing community members, and safe animal handling
4. Demonstrate skills and knowledge obtained during training via a written examination and clinical skills assessments
The expected outcome of this training will be to enable trainees to:
1. Conduct interviews to investigate an animal bite
2. Set-up a bite quarantine for a dog and explain the expectations to caregiver
3. Safely capture a dog including aggressive or potentially rabid dogs
4. Anesthetize a dog by administering premix based on the dogs estimated weight
5. Euthanize a dog using KCl
6. Complete appropriate drug inventory and usage logs
7. Decapitate a dog for rabies testing
8. Properly package and transport a rabies sample to EPHI
9. Safely dispose of potentially rabid animal carcasses
10. Communicate regularly with the human said of rabies bite surveillance investigations
At the end of the day all trainees were examined for the skill acquired and awarded certificates. On behalf of EPHI in general and zoonoses research team in particular would like to extend my acknowledgement to OSU ,GARC and CDC partners for the shared experience and skill transfer regarding canine rabies control techniques. I would also like to appreciate the Addis Ababa Urban Agriculture and Ethiopian Public Health Institute for making this training successful.
