Six criteria for rabies diagnosis in living dogs.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The authors studied the predictive value of six criteria for clinical diagnosis of rabies in living dogs. DESIGN: Identify and test the criteria in a retrospective and prospective study. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Both studies were conducted at the Rabies Diagnostic Unit, Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute, Thai Red Cross Society, Bangkok. The authors reviewed 1,170 dogs that were kept under observation for 10 days after they exhibited abnormal behavior. To test the predictive value of the six criteria, a prospective study involving 450 rabies suspected dogs was also performed. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The six criteria demonstrated 90.2% sensitivity, 96.2% specificity and 94.6% accuracy for the clinical diagnosis of rabies. They can be used for a presumptive diagnosis and may help in prioritizing post-exposure treatments and institute urgent rabies control measures.