Customized online and onsite training for rabies-control officers

Hervé Bourhy, Cécile Troupin, Ousmane Faye, François-Xavier Meslin, Bernadette Abela-Ridder, Amadou Alpha Sall, Jean-Pierre Kraehenbuhl

It is difficult to deliver adequate training for people working in rabies control in low and middle-income countries. Popular e-learning systems for low-income settings are not well suited to developing and testing practical skills, including laboratory methods. We customized training in rabies control methods for African professionals and students from different disciplines. Trainees participated in preparatory online sessions, evaluations and exercises before and after a 12-day workshop. Trainees and mentors continued to interact through an online forum up to one year after the workshop. In Africa, 15 000 deaths from rabies occur each year due to a lack of awareness, inaccessibility of post-exposure prophylaxis, inadequate or absent canine rabies-control programmes and lack of governmental financial support. Thirty two trainees - working in health departments, hospitals, veterinary stations and research institutes - were selected to participate; 28 completed the course and passed the final evaluation. Pilot rabies investigation programmes were developed, and two manuscripts submitted for publication. An online forum facilitated further progress for a year after the workshop. A combination of customized online and onsite training is suitable for teaching disease-control personnel in low-income countries. Participation in this course enabled trainees to advocate for the development of national disease-control strategies. Mentoring is needed to develop a strong network of experts in similar settings.