Page 13 - Read Online

Husein et al. One Health Implement Res 2023;3:16-29 https://dx.doi.org/10.20517/ohir.2022.32 Page 18

ORV has been successful in achieving high vaccination coverage in free-roaming dog populations in
[13]
[14]
India , the Philippines , and Haiti and has been instrumental in eliminating wildlife-transmitted rabies
[15]
[16]
in Western Europe . One of the preconditions to the success of ORV is the selection of suitable bait - as
essential as identifying a safe and efficacious vaccine. One of the characteristics of baits to be used for
effective ORV administration is that they must be attractive to the target population, accepted culturally,
[13]
and able to be produced in sufficient quantities . Bait trials had previously been conducted in Indonesia,
specifically in East Flores Regency, Flores Island, to determine the preferences of local dogs for the type of
baits used. The result of the study showed that locally made fishmeal baits were preferred over commercial
baits. However, this study only focused on bait acceptance and did not assess vaccine release and
delivery . The present study aimed to identify the preferred bait of local dogs in Bali using low-cost baits
[17]
and to estimate oral vaccination success in locations with different geographic and demographic conditions.
Further, an assessment of potential direct and indirect human contact with the contents of the placebo
sachets was carried out.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Study setting and design
The study was designed as a controlled-randomized research study and conducted in two pilot areas in Bali
Province, namely Nongan village, Karangasem District represents rural areas (November 23-25, 2021), and
Banyuning village, Buleleng District, which represents urban areas (November 30 to December 2, 2021)
[Figure 1].

Prior to the study, 10 teams of two people from these districts were trained on how to approach a dog, offer
bait to the targeted animals, and fill out the recording form. This study used two types of imported
manufactured baits made from fishmeal and egg powder, and one locally hand-made bait using Bali cattle
intestine [Table 1]. The intestine bait, as a positive control, has previously shown very high acceptance rates
in different settings, including the Philippines , Bangladesh , Thailand , and Navajo Nation (USA) .
[21]
[18]
[19]
[20]
As a negative control, machine-made fishmeal-based bait was used. The fishmeal bait has been used
extensively in Europe during oral vaccination campaigns targeted at foxes and raccoon dogs [22-24] . Although
this bait is highly attractive for these animals, it has been shown to be less well accepted by dogs [18,25,26] .

[27]
A newly developed egg-flavored bait was also tested with the addition of commercial wet dog food paste
with beef flavor. This bait has shown almost similar acceptance rates to dogs as boiled-intestine bait .
[20]
During a systematic program working through the study area, all dogs observed were offered a single bait;
the bait type offered was pre-determined using a randomization list. All three bait types contained a sachet
filled with 3.0 mL of blue-dyed water. The colorant used, Patent Blue V (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Geel,
Belgium), is safe and commonly used in food products.

Procedures
Prior to the bait acceptance study, public awareness was raised by informing the village government,
traditional elders, and the community in the village where the activity was located. The information
provided covered the concept of the oral rabies vaccination method and the study to be conducted in their
area. The different bait types were taken from the freezer at the storage site in the field study area in cool
boxes containing ice packs. The baits were thawed before offering them to the dogs [Figure 2A].

A two-person team visited the assigned study sites using a motorcycle and systematically searched for dogs
between 07:00 and 17:00, preferably early morning and late afternoon. The team leader was responsible for