ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Despite the effort to eradicate rabies in the Philippines, human rabies cases have not decreased in the past decade. Rabid dogs pose the most significant hazard in the countries with the highest burden of rabies, and 70% rabies vaccine coverage is recommended for dogs in high-risk areas. Ascertaining the owned dog population and community knowledge on rabies can help improve vaccine coverage and information campaigns. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We conducted a cross-sectional survey in six randomly selected communities (five urban, one rural) in Central Luzon, Philippines. We first conducted the complete mapping of 9,173 households and then randomly selected 727 households. More than half (54.1%) of the households owned dogs (1.21 dogs/household). In the 727 households, we identified 878 owned dogs and 3256 humans. According to these results, the dog-to-human ratio was approximately 1:3.7. Only 8.8% of households reported a history of dog bite in 2019. Among dog-owning households, 31% reported that they allow their dogs to roam freely. Of the recorded dogs, 35.9% have never been vaccinated, and only 3.5% were spayed or castrated. Factors associated with lower rabies knowledge include (1) no education aOR: 0.30 (0.16-0.59), and (2) only primary school education aOR: 0.33 (0.22-0.49). In contrast, factors associated with higher knowledge include (1) owning a dog and not allowing them to roam freely aOR: 2.01 (1.41-2.87) and (2) owning a dog and allowing them to roam freely aOR: 1.84 (1.17-2.92), when compared to those with no dogs. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We identified a larger dog population in the community than the usual estimates (1:10), suggesting that annual vaccine needs in the Philippines must be reassessed. Our survey shows a relatively good understanding of rabies; however, awareness of the concept of rabies as a disease, and how animals and humans can acquire it, is lacking.
Subject(s)
Dog Diseases/prevention & control , Family Characteristics , Rabies Vaccines/immunology , Rabies/veterinary , Animals , Cat Diseases/epidemiology , Cat Diseases/prevention & control , Cat Diseases/virology , Cats , Cross-Sectional Studies , Disease Susceptibility , Dog Diseases/epidemiology , Dog Diseases/virology , Dogs , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Humans , Ownership , Philippines/epidemiology , Rabies/epidemiology , Rabies/prevention & controlABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The etiology of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) has not yet been fully explained. Several studies suggested an association between two single nucleotide polymorphisms (T45G and G276T) of the ADIPOQ gene that encodes for the hormone adiponectin and PCOS susceptibility. Hence, we performed a meta-analysis to investigate the relationship of the two further. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Literature search was conducted in PubMed up to June 22, 2018, for related publications written in English. Selected data were extracted from the included studies and was subjected to analysis using Review Manager 5.3. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were computed and pooled from the resulting studies. Subgroup analysis by ethnicity was also performed. RESULTS: Overall analysis showed that women with the G276T polymorphism have reduced susceptibility to PCOS (OR: 0.68; 95% CI: 0.60-0.78; PA < 0.001). While no significant association was observed for the T45G polymorphism (OR: 1.07; 95% CI: 0.93-1.24; PA = 0.34). Subgroup analysis, on the other hand, showed significant associations among East Asians (OR: 0.69; 95% CI: 0.57-0.82; PA < 0.001) for the G276T association. CONCLUSION: Results of this meta-analysis suggests that women with the G276T polymorphism are less likely to develop PCOS. However, more studies are needed to confirm the claims of this meta-analysis.
