All text from this work may be reprinted freely. dogs. Blood samples were randomly collected from 4,775 dogs in Fengtai District, which account for 3% of all registered dogs in the district. Rabies computer virus neutralization antibody (VNA) titers were detected by fluorescent antibody computer virus neutralization ( em 2 /em ). In brief, VNA titers 0.5 IU indicated positive immunization, implying that the dog had an adequate level of antibody, and VNA 0.5 IU indicated negative immunization ( em 3 /em ). The data were analyzed by 2-tailed 2 test; p 0.05 was considered significant. Vaccination protection and antibody levels Rabbit Polyclonal to MARK4 were categorized either by dogs function (guard or pet) or residence (urban or suburban) (Physique). Open in a separate window Physique Rabies immunization status of dogs, Fengtai, Beijing, China. Immunization status and vaccination protection were categorized according to doggie vaccination background and rabies antibody level in each doggie. A) Vaccinated, B) by no means vaccinated, C) unclear vaccination history; D) guard doggie, E) pet doggie; F) in urban areas, G) in suburban areas. *Significant difference (p 0.05) for dogs with positive antibody levels between A, B, and C; between D and E; or between F and G; or a significant difference (p 0.05) in doggie immunization coverage between D and E or between F and Betamethasone dipropionate G. Most dogs with a history of vaccination were positively immunized (68.1%) (Physique, bar A), compared with 16.4% in the unvaccinated group (Determine, bar B), demonstrating that compulsory immunization is crucial Betamethasone dipropionate to rabies control ( em 4 /em ). Of 944 dogs with unclear vaccination history, 221 (23.4%) (Physique, bar C) had adequate antibody levels, possibly from undocumented vaccination Betamethasone dipropionate or contact with rabies hosts. However, for 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009, immunization protection in the district was 55.0%, 53.8%, 67.4%, and 54.4%, respectively, all below the 70% criterion recommended by the World Health Business ( em 5 /em ). The results imply that much work still needs to be carried out by the Beijing government, not only to meet the World Health Business immunization baseline but also to keep risk for any rabies epidemic in Beijing low. Immunization protection ratios differed significantly (p 0.05) between guard (39.3%) and pet dogs (69.5%) (Determine, bars D, E) and between urban (81.7%) and suburban areas (27.6%) (Physique, bars F, G). Consequently, the number of negatively immunized guard dogs was 1.68 lower than that for pet dogs (Determine, bars D, E) (p 0.05), and the number of positively immunized dogs in urban areas was 2.5 higher than that in suburban areas (Determine, bars F, G) (p 0.05). In Beijing, guard dogs are usually raised by villagers to protect the house, whereas pet dogs are usually raised by city dwellers who treat dogs as friends. As a result, in urban areas dogs are registered and vaccinated in a timely manner by authorized pet hospitals ( em 6 /em ). In suburban areas, however, dog management is deficient. For example, guard dogs in suburban areas are sometimes not vaccinated because the owner or veterinarian cannot safely restrain the dog for vaccination. According to our study, 10% of unregistered dogs with no clear history of vaccination are not vaccinated during yearly vaccination programs. In Beijing during 2007C2009, of 9 cases of rabies in humans, 6 were associated with stray dogs ( em 7 /em ), and most stray dogs were found in suburban areas. Hence, strategies to either reduce stray dogs in the city or to get such dogs under official management (e.g., include stray dogs in compulsory annual vaccination programs) are urgently needed. In our opinion, policies related to dog registration, vaccination recording, and vaccination strategies need improvement in Beijing, especially in suburban areas. Although our report only focused on the Fengtai District, the findings could be helpful for the Beijing government for establishing strategies to control the rabies epidemic in the entire city. Acknowledgments We thank Youxin Wang for assistance with data analysis. This work was funded by Key Projects in the National Science andTechnology Pillar Program (no. 2009BAI83B02) and the Program of Excellent Talents in Beijing (no. 2009D005018000007). Footnotes em Suggested citation for this article /em : Wang C, Wang Y, Du X, Zeng L, Dong G, Wu Y, et al. Rabies immunization status of dogs, Beijing, China. Emerg Infect Dis [serial on the Internet]. 2011 Jun [ em date cited /em ]. http://dx.doi.org/10.3201/eid1706.101590.