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Millien et al. One Health Implement Res 2023;3:148-60 https://dx.doi.org/10.20517/ohir.2023.37 Page 150

In his book entitled “Observations Relating to the Health of Animals in Saint Domingue or Essay on their
diseases” published in 1788, the French veterinarian Jean Lompargieu Lapole mentions a set of conditions
present in animals and humans in the colony, namely strangles, glanders, lymphatic and non-anthrax
[13]
tumors, anthrax, wormy bronchitis, rabies, etc. . For his part, the historian Jacques Cauna mentioned that
among the diseases that plagued the colony, cases of hydrophobia in dogs, according to him, corresponded
[14]
to rabies . Dr. Lapole was somewhat reluctant since there were not many dogs in the colony at the time.
But he admitted to having observed the case of a dog suspected of rabies that had escaped from its cage and
the next day had bitten a black slave on the hand as the slave passed in the street. The same dog had entered
a stable to devour the upper lip of a horse. Two months later, the unfortunate slave showed signs of
excitement and stiffness and succumbed to the most painful and horrific seizures eight days later. The
discovery of this case of canine rabies followed by a human death led the municipal agents of the time to
take the problem of rabies in the colony very seriously, starting by initiating control activities or, more
[13]
simply, by killing stray dogs because people already knew that rabies had a fatal outcome .

Rabies in Haiti after its independence in 1804
In the aftermath of Haiti’s independence in 1804, the new leaders of the state had far more pressing
concerns than rabies, such as defending the territory. Even though, throughout the 19th century, a few cases
of furious canine rabies were observed in Haiti. There was practically no technical service dealing with the
control of this disease and even less with organizing its monitoring in the country. It was only during the
American occupation (1915-1934) that we began to organize the Veterinary Services in Haiti and
implemented activities to control canine rabies effectively. During this period, a veterinary department was
established under the direction of the American veterinary doctor I.B. Boughton, in the Department of
Agriculture and Vocational Education of Haiti. This department initiated the anti-rabies vaccination of
dogs and cats in 1928 and reported cases of rabies in dogs and humans across the country. These activities
were relatively insignificant because of the limited technical staff and inadequate financial resources devoted
to the fight against rabies. There are limited data on human and animal rabies cases from the 18th through
[15]
20th centuries in Haiti .
After 1934, a National Program for the vaccination of dogs and cats against rabies was established, but
without a strong focus on achieving sufficient vaccination coverage to break the cycle of rabies virus
infection. The epidemiological surveillance of the disease was poorly organized due to the lack of veterinary
professionals and a budget for rabies. However, a foundation for animal health was established through the
collaboration of foreign veterinary experts from the FAO and the French Mission for Cooperation and
Cultural Action. It was not until 1968 that the government created a Higher School of Veterinary Nurses
with a two-year training program to produce a certain number of veterinary technicians for the country .
[16]

To understand how the National Rabies Control Program works, let us consider the vaccination activities
carried out by this program from 1995 to 2010. There has been a noticeable increase in vaccination coverage
in Haiti from year to year since 1995. The highest number of dogs vaccinated was 429,254 in 2009. However,
this coverage still fell short of the 70% of the canine population required for effective national anti-rabies
vaccination campaigns for dogs . Haiti recorded 998 rabies cases among dogs and cats (an average of 59
[17]
per year), and in 2013-2014, 101 rabid animals (50 per year) were recorded .
[18]

The roles of the Ministries of Agriculture and Public Health in rabies control become clearer. The Ministry
of Agriculture was responsible for vaccinating dogs and cats against rabies, while the Ministry of Public
Health was responsible for caring for people in both pre-exposure and post-exposure, as well as for
addressing the issue of stray dogs.