Canid Rabies in Zimbabwe and South Africa a Review

In comparison to the other continents where rabies is endemic, the history of rabies in Africa before the 19 th century, is rather fragmentary and largely anecdotal. There are no definite reports to indicate that rabies was present in Zimbabwe before 1902, although Edmonds (as cited by Foggin, 1988 and Swanepoel et al., 1993) reports anecdotal evidence from older members of the population who claimed to remember cases from before the European occupation. The first definite cases of rabies in Zimbabwe were reported in 1902 in dogs and thought to have originated from Zambia. The disease spread throughout most parts of Zimbabwe and was subsequently controlled through destruction of stray dogs, compulsory vaccination of all dogs and introduction of a dog tax. Zimbabwe remained rabies-free between 1913 and 1950, with the exception of two other dog rabies cases diagnosed in dogs that were imported from Zambia in 1938.