Dog Ecology and Demographics in Several Areas in the Philippines and Its Application to Anti-Rabies Vaccination Programs

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Dog population estimates are necessary to design effective rabies and dog population control programs. Dog population sizes vary drastically from country to country and vary within a country based on human tolerance, pet ownership practices, culture, religion, and several other factors. Human density, level of urbanisation and human settlement types (urban, semi-urban and rural) also play a role in the size of the dog population. Humane dog management programs have shown that dog density per km street length is one measure to monitor the program’s impact. However, we argue here that efficient sterilisation and vaccination program planning also requires an estimate of the total dog population. In the Philippines, we have conducted owned dog population surveys (household surveys and dog demographic surveys), which have proven to be very effective in planning high-volume vaccination programs. Following the implementation of the dog surveys and the subsequent understanding by local officials that actual dog populations were far higher than originally assumed, a higher rabies vaccination coverage was achieved in two target cities due to a correction in the number of vaccines doses needed. ABSTRACT: Understanding dog population dynamics plays a vital role in planning both rabies and dog management interventions. Establishing a human to dog ratio and an understanding how the urban/rural nature of the community might affect the overall dog population estimate provides an easy-to-use reference to estimate approximate dog populations in a range of communities. A total of 10,664 households were interviewed in 10 locations in the Philippines (2017 and 2018) to understand the dog population variations among the urban, semi-urban and rural areas. Epicollect5 and OSM tracker applications were used to conduct household interviews using a predesigned fixed set of questions. All answers were recorded directly using mobile phone applications. The survey results showed that for every 1000 humans, there are 256.3 dogs in rural areas, 213.8 dogs in semi-rural areas, 208.7 dogs in urban areas and 170.0 dogs on small islands of the Philippines. We estimate a total dog population in the Philippines of 23.29 million dogs (CI 95%, 22.51–24.07 million). Based on the survey findings from Quezon City and Cebu City, targets, resources allocations and vaccination approach were adjusted for the anti-rabies vaccination program at two locations in 2018, which lead to a 3- to 4-fold increase in the total number of dogs vaccinated in each city compared to previous years.