Abstract
Recently, the rabies cases have been reported in Paju- and Yangju-gun, Gyeonggj province near Seoul metropolitan area. The Pukhansan national park, nearly located from the cities, is suspected to be a high risk area for incidence and spread of the rabies to metropolitan area. This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence rate for rabies antibody of dogs near the Pukhansan national park and in some other districts in Seoul metropolitan city. From march to october 2001, a total of 306 serum samples were taken from dogs for breeding(189) md pet dogs(117) in 4 districts near the Pukhansan national park and other districts of Seoul. Rabies virus antibodies in sera were detected by neutralizing peroxidase - linked as say (NPLA). Of the 306 sera of dogs tested, 74 (24.2%) were positive to rabies virus antibody. The prevalence rates of rabies antibody in Pukhansan national park area and in the other districts of Seoul city were 23.7% and 25.3%, respectively There was no significant difference in the prevalence rate between these two districts. The prevalence rates of rabies antibody in pet dogs and dogs for breeding were 40.2% and 14.3% respectively. The prevalence rates of rabies antibodies in less than 1 year, 1∼<2 years, 2∼<3 years, and over 3 years old dogs were 14.5%, 22.4%, 32.6%, and 27.1%, respectively, and overall 24.2% in the dog population. In addition, we found that dogs less than 1 year old had lower antibody prevalence than those over 1 year old. It was concluded that enhancement of vaccination is important in the prevention of the rabies, and that rabies vaccines should not be less supplied than the population of the dog.
