The Progression of Taiwan Ferret Badger Rabies from July 2013 to December 2016

On July 17, 2013, rabies was confirmed in ferret badgers (Melogale moschata) in Taiwan, which is the sole reservoir host. The epidemic happens solely in Taiwan Island. This research is to show the progression of ferret badger rabies at Taiwan, using the samples examined from July 2013 to December 2016. Rabies data are periodically released by the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine (BAPHIQ) in the governmental website http://www.baphiq.gov.tw/index.php. The authors downloaded necessary data to investigate the epidemiology with kind permission of BAPHIQ. From July 2013 to December 2016, a total of 644 samples of ferret badgers were taken from 7 cities/ counties of all the 16 cities/counties in Taiwan Island. None (0%, 0/644) were confirmed as rabies-positive. Of the 789 samples of ferret badgers taken from the other 9 cities/counties, 553 (70.1%, 553/789) were confirmed as rabies-positive. Until December 2016, a total of 77 townships were confirmed as rabies-enzootic. A total of 76 out of the 77 enzootic townships were mountainous. Only 1 out of the 77 townships was urbanized. Chi-square test indicates that there is an extremely significant difference in the incidence of ferret badger rabies between townships with mountainous landscapes and urbanized townships (p<0.001). Ever since the outbreak of ferret badger rabies in July 2013, the epidemic has sustainably been constrained by the original geographical barriers.

In 2014, 2015, and 2016, the prog ression of ferret badger rabies in total added 18 enzootic townships.

Author(s): Shih TH, Wallace R, Tu WJ, Wu HY, Inoue S, Liu JN, Weng CJ and Fei CY*

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