Spatiotemporal distribution of rabies in Arctic foxes in Greenland

The temporal occurrence, spatial distribution, spread, and prevalence of rabies in Arctic foxes, Vulpes lagopus, in Greenland were studied using historical observations from 1969 to 2011 and survey data collected in the winters 1992 and 1993. Regionally, the prevalence of rabies ranged between 0 and 7.1 %. Wavelet analysis was used to identify periodicities in the abundance of rabies cases based on the historical observations. No general length of the cyclic interval of rabies occurrences in Greenland could be demonstrated. The frequency of outbreaks was found to be variable but can be grouped as short (less than 5 years), medium (5–10 years), and long (more than 10 years). Moreover, rabies outbreaks in neighboring regions were found to be more closely correlated compared to regions further apart. In West Greenland, the temporal outbreaks of rabies were found to occur along a north-south trajectory.