EPIDEMIOLOGIC SURVEILLANCE OF RABIES IN LITHUANIA FROM 1986 TO 1996

Rabies has been endemic in Lithuania for centuries. The objective of t his study was to evaluate rabies incidence and seasonal trends in dome stic and wild animals in Lithuania from 1986 to 1996. Annual rabies re ports and data on cattle numbers were collected. Descriptive epidemiol ogy and time series data analyses were performed to detect seasonal tr ends. A total of 1,475 specimens were submitted for rabies testing. Of these, 1,248 (84.6%) were confirmed as rabies cases by immunofluoresc ence antibody testing. Domestic animals accounted for 73.8% (921/1,248 ) of all rabies cases, with cattle accounting for 61.1% (563/921) of d omestic animal cases. Wildlife cases were reported principally in red foxes (56%; 183/327) and raccoon dogs (31.2%; 102/327). Time series an alysis indicated a strong association between the occurrence of rabies in cattle and the season of the year (P = 0.0032), with the highest i ncidence of rabies occurring in autumn. The incidence declined from 3. 4 to 4.8 cases per 100,000 cattle in the mid-1980s to <1.5 cases per 1 00,000 cattle in 1994, but increased to 4.2 cases per 100,000 cattle i n 1996. However, as the cattle population dramatically decreased (by 5 4%) over the eleven-year period of the study, the reduction in the tot al number of rabies cases in cattle was not reflected in the annual in cidence rate of cattle rabies.