Abstract

CORRALES, María-Gracia; LEON, Daphne  and  FALCON, Néstor. Influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on dog ownership and rabies vaccination in Metropolitan Lima. Rev. investig. vet. Perú [online]. 2023, vol.34, n.2, e25103.  Epub Apr 28, 2023. ISSN 1609-9117.  http://dx.doi.org/10.15381/rivep.v34i2.25103.

The aim of this study was to determine the possible influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on dog ownership and anti-rabies vaccination practices in Metropolitan Lima (Peru), taking as a source of information the National Survey of Budgetary Programmes (ENAPRES) carried out by the Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática (INEI) in the period 2017-2021. The proportion of respondents who owned at least one dog per household had an increasing trend, reaching the highest proportions in the pandemic years (2020: 47.5%; 2021: 50.8%). The districts of Lima Sur and Lima Centro presented the highest (52.1-58%) and lowest (31.6-42.4%) proportion of respondents with dogs, respectively. According to the socioeconomic stratum (ESE), dog ownership had an inverse relationship (rs=-0.95), with a higher proportion in sector E (51.5-60.7%) and lower in sector A (32.5-43.1%). The proportion of vaccinated animals had a decreasing trend, reaching the lowest coverage during the pandemic years (2020: 84.8%; 2021: 82.4%). The highest proportion of vaccinated dogs was found in Lima Centro (88.1-95.9%). According to ESE, the relationship was direct (rs=0.813). The highest proportion of vaccinated animals during the pre-pandemic and pandemic years occurred in ESEA (90.395%) and B (87.8-94.8%). In all the years of the study, the lowest proportions of vaccinated animals were in ESE E (75-80.2%). The study shows that dog ownership and rabies vaccination coverage were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The results can be used to assess the sanitary measures implemented to keep the capital free of urban rabies.

Keywords : zoonosis; dogs; COVID-19; public health.

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