**2. Trends in rabies research based on articles**

We used a two-tiered approach to analyze research related to rabies control. First, we per‐ formed a quantitative analysis of all articles about rabies. Subsequently, we analyzed the top 10 cited articles, irrespective of whether they were related to rabies control.

### **2.1. Method of analysis**

Bibliometric analysis is considered to be an effective method for identifying research trends in infectious disease control. Quantitative surveys of research articles (hereafter referred to as article) based on bibliometric studies have been reported in the field of infectious diseases, such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) [6], tuberculosis research in India and China [7], and various forms of infectious disease research in different regions of the world [8], Asia [9], and around the world [10]. In particular, we have surveyed Asian and worldwide research trends, while ensuring that we avoided underestimating the number of articles in non-English and regional journals, rather than simply surveying journals registered in the "Infectious Disease Category" of the Science

Patent analysis is also considered to be an effective method for technology development trend analysis. Patents are examined and granted by patent offices, and they are considered to be objective indicators of technology development activities. In addition, patents have significant advantages in terms of database availability, the variety of information included, and their systematic classification according to standardized schemes, e.g., the international patent classification (IPC) supports the detailed analysis of specific technological aspects. For these reasons, patent data are used intensively for strategic technology management by companies [11], as well as for science and technology (S&T) measurement in policy-making processes and academic research in various fields [12]. Indeed, patent analyses have been reported in the

Research and technology development for rabies control is considered to be important for future public and animal health throughout the world, as described above. However, to the best of our knowledge, bibliometric and patent analyses of rabies have not been reported yet. Therefore, in this chapter, we report the current trends in research and technology develop‐ ment for rabies control in the US, the EU, and Asia based on analyses of articles and patent applications. We targeted patent applications because publication of a patent application is invariably the earliest point when relevant technology information becomes available to the public because it is the first set of detailed and up-to-date published information. Furthermore, the number of patent applications in particular technological areas is considered to indicate

The trends in research and technology development for rabies control will be summarized

Based on this analysis, we discuss the future directions of research and technology develop‐ ment for rabies control. Moreover, we propose the development of a survey method for

**•** Number of articles and patent applications during each year and by each country

**•** Major research areas of articles and the technical areas of patent applications

field of infectious diseases, such as hepatitis B vaccines [13] and influenza [14,15].

Citation Index ExpandedTM [9,10].

164 Trends in Infectious Diseases

the volume of resources allocated [16].

**•** Number of articles by organization

**•** Number of authors and applicants by nationality

**•** Top 10 cited articles and patent applications

zoonosis control, research and technology development.

using the following indicators.

The Web of Science® [17] was used to survey articles about rabies, which covers over 12,000 journals worldwide, including open access journals. Using the Web of Science®, keyword and title search of articles was performed using the terms "Rabies" OR "Lyssa" (to include virus species related to rabies virus) NOT "Rabi" (to exclude articles in the field of optics, e.g., articles related to "Rabi oscillations") on June 24, 2013. The publication period of articles ranged from January 1, 2001 to December 31, 2011.

We focused on articles and excluded reviews, proceedings papers, and other types of publi‐ cations. This is because articles are high quality because they have been peer reviewed and are directly linked to the outputs of the latest research.

Other articles in the field of infectious diseases retrieved by the Web of Science® were also analyzed to identify the characteristics of articles related to rabies.

### **2.2. Leading countries based on the number of articles**

The total number of articles related to rabies published throughout the world during 2001– 2011 was 2,565. We regrouped the articles by country to identify any possible differences in research output among countries. The US was the leading country, with the highest percentage of total articles, i.e., 32.5% of the total (833 articles). There was a big gap for the second placed country, France, with 10.6% of the total (273 articles). The UK, Brazil, and Germany followed with 10.1% (258 articles), 8.6% (220 articles), and 7.2% (185 articles), respectively (Figure 1).

As shown in Table 1, the US, France, the UK, and Germany were the top four countries with most articles related to rabies, and they were also the leading countries for all articles about infectious diseases. However, Brazil ranked in the top five with most articles related to rabies. This showed that rabies research was a particular focus in Brazil.

## **2.3. Annual changes in the number of articles**

As shown in Figure 2, the total number of articles related to rabies increased during 2001–2011. However, the US did not show a remarkable change, although it produced the highest output. Other countries such as the UK, France, Brazil, and Germany also had stable outputs. Thus, the overall increase in articles was considered to be attributable to other countries that were not surveyed in this study.

Number of articles

**Figure 1.** Number of articles related to rabies by country during 2001–2011 most articles related to rabies, and they were also the leading countries for all articles about infectious diseases. However, Brazil ranked in the top five with most articles related to

rabies. This showed that rabies research was a particular focus in Brazil.


Number of articles in the field of

0

Number of articles

0

**2.5. Major research areas**

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US)

Institut Pasteur, Paris (France)

**Figure 3.** Number of articles related to rabies by organization during 2001–2011

50

100

150

200

250

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Trends in Research and Technology Development Related to Zoonosis Control Based on Bibliometric and Patent…

Organization

Figure 4 shows the number of articles related to rabies for each research field, which showed that the main field of rabies research was veterinary sciences. Research was also conducted in

Thomas Jefferson University (US)

Universidade de Sao Paulo (Brazil)

**Figure 2.** Number of articles related to rabies by year during 2001–2011

The world

US France UK Brazil Germany

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/57566

167

Year

University of Oxford(UK)

50

100

150

200

Number of articles

250

300

350

Number of articles about rabies

#### **2.4. Number of articles by organization**

articles during 2001–2011

**2.3. Annual changes in the number of articles**  As shown in Figure 2, the total number of articles related to rabies increased during 2001– 2011. However, the US did not show a remarkable change, although it produced the highest output. Other countries such as the UK, France, Brazil, and Germany also had stable US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US CDC) published most articles related to rabies (198 articles) during 2001–2011. Institut Pasteur (France) and Thomas Jefferson Univer‐ sity (US) published the second and third highest numbers of articles (141 and 87 articles, respectively) (Figure 3).

Trends in Research and Technology Development Related to Zoonosis Control Based on Bibliometric and Patent… http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/57566 167

**Figure 2.** Number of articles related to rabies by year during 2001–2011

**Figure 3.** Number of articles related to rabies by organization during 2001–2011

#### **2.5. Major research areas**

Country

**Relative to the total number of articles (%)**

US France UK Brazil Germany

Country

**Rank Country Number of**

Search condition

Research field: infectious diseases Document type: Article

Total number of articles: 92,113 articles

Number of articles in the field of infectious diseases

**articles**

 US 35,488 38.5 UK 9,437 10.2 France 7,625 8.3 Germany 4,908 5.3 Spain 4,906 5.3

As shown in Table 1, the US, France, the UK, and Germany were the top four countries with most articles related to rabies, and they were also the leading countries for all articles about infectious diseases. However, Brazil ranked in the top five with most articles related to

Table 1. Table 1 Comparison of the rankings for articles related to rabies and all infectious disease

**Table 1.** Comparison of the rankings for articles related to rabies and all infectious disease articles during 2001–2011

As shown in Figure 2, the total number of articles related to rabies increased during 2001– 2011. However, the US did not show a remarkable change, although it produced the highest output. Other countries such as the UK, France, Brazil, and Germany also had stable

US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US CDC) published most articles related to rabies (198 articles) during 2001–2011. Institut Pasteur (France) and Thomas Jefferson Univer‐ sity (US) published the second and third highest numbers of articles (141 and 87 articles,

Number of articles

Number of articles

**Rank Country Number of**

Number of articles about rabies

**articles**

 US 833 32.5 France 273 10.6 UK 258 10.1 Brazil 220 8.6 Germany 185 7.2

Keywords: Rabies OR Lyssa NOT Rabi

**2.4. Number of articles by organization**

166 Trends in Infectious Diseases

articles during 2001–2011

respectively) (Figure 3).

Search condition

Document type: Article Total number of articles: 2,565 articles

**Figure 1.** Number of articles related to rabies by country during 2001–2011

**2.3. Annual changes in the number of articles** 

Figure 1. Number of articles related to rabies by country during 2001–2011

US France UK Brazil Germany

rabies. This showed that rabies research was a particular focus in Brazil.

**Relative to the total number of articles (%)**

> Figure 4 shows the number of articles related to rabies for each research field, which showed that the main field of rabies research was veterinary sciences. Research was also conducted in

basic sciences, such as virology and immunology. It is considered that virological and immunological research on rabies contributes to the development of vaccines and diagnostic methods.

The values are the number of articles.

### **2.6. Top 10 cited articles**

Table 2 shows top 10 most cited articles related to rabies. Of these articles, two reported and discussed methods for rabies control [18,19]. It was interesting that the two articles were based on new research areas, i.e., agent-based modeling and economic analysis. These studies were not categorized in the major research areas described in Section 2.5.

Table 2. Top 10 cited articles related to rabies during 2001–2011

*3.1.1. Step 1-Collection of data sources for patent applications*

The survey of patent applications comprised the following four steps.

**3.1.1. Step 1- Collection of data sources for patent applications**

The Derwent Patent Index® (DWPI) and the Derwent Patent Citation Index® (DPCI) [23,24] were used to survey patent applications related to rabies control using the search strategy

To survey the number of applicants by nationality, we used the FAMPAT® [26], which is a comprehensive worldwide patent family database. We used the FAMPAT® because the DWPI

DWPI is one of the largest and most user-friendly patent databases in the world, which contains over 21.85 million patent families that cover over 45.2 million patent documents. It

**based on patent applications**

**3.1. Method of analysis**

does not include the nationalities of applicants.

of rabies.

the WIPO.

described below.

**Rank Cited number**

**1** 400 Pattern-oriented modeling of agent-based

**2** 377 Transvascular delivery of small interfering RNA to the central nervous system

**3** 339 Cerebellar loops with motor cortex and

**4** 314 Efficacy of RTS,S/ASO2 malaria vaccine

randomised trial

**7** 249 Cannabinoid-based drugs as antiinflammatory therapeutics

**8** 239 Diseases of humans and their domestic

and the risk of emergence

**9** 214 Rabies virus glycoprotein pseudotyping of

after peripheral delivery

**5** 288 Re-evaluating the burden of rabies in Africa and Asia

complex systems: Lessons from ecology

prefrontal cortex of a nonhuman primate

against Plasmodium falciparum infection in semi-immune adult men in The Gambia: a

mammals: pathogen characteristics, host range

lentiviral vectors enables retrograde axonal transport and access to the nervous system

**10** 208 Population biology of multihost pathogens Woolhouse, M.E.J.

**Table 2.** Top 10 cited articles related to rabies during 2001–2011

**6** 261 Small world effect in an epidemiological mode Kuperman, M. et al., PHYSICAL REVIEW

described below.

**3. Trends in technology development related to rabies control**

**Title Author(s) Journal Volume, Page, Year Contribution to rabies** 

NEUROSCIENCE

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION

IMMUNOLOGY

MOLECULAR GENETICS

TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF LONDON SERIES B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES

LETTERS

Kelly, R.M. et al., JOURNAL OF

Trends in Research and Technology Development Related to Zoonosis Control Based on Bibliometric and Patent…

Knobel, D.L. et al., BULLETIN OF THE

Klein, T.W. NATURE REVIEWS

Cleaveland, S. et al., PHILOSOPHICAL

Mazarakis, N,D. et al., HUMAN

et al.,

Grimm, V. et al.,

**control**

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/57566

169

23, 8432–8444, 2003 No (usage of virus as

83, 360–368, 2005 Yes (study to quantify

burden)

86, 2909–2912, 2001 No (epidemiological model

5, 400–411, 2005 No (therapeutic usefulness

356, 991–999, 2001 Indirectly yes (database

10, 2109–2121, 2001 No (usage of virus protein as a virus vector)

SCIENCE 292, 1109–1112, 2001 Indirectly yes (database

simulation )

neuronal tracer)

as delivery to the brain)

as a control of malaria vaccine)

public health and economic

based on the structure of a population)

of these drugs in chronic inflammatory diseases)

analysis of multihost pathogens)

analysis of multihost pathogens)

SCIENCE 310, 987–991, 2005 Yes (rabies prevalence

Kumar, P. et al., NATURE 448, 39–43, 2007 No (usage of viral peptide

Bojang, K.A. et al., LANCET 358, 1927–1934, 2001 No (usage of rabies vaccine

Subsequently, we performed quantitative and qualitative analyzes of patent applications related to rabies control, e.g., technologies related to vaccines, screening, and the diagnosis

DWPI is one of the largest and most user-friendly patent databases in the world, which contains over 21.85 million patent families that cover over 45.2 million patent documents. It includes coverage of over 47 worldwide patent authorities with enhanced patent titles and abstracts prepared by subject experts to facilitate the survey of patent documents. Additionally the DWPI assembles all of the patent documents relating to an invention into a single database record as a "patent family". A single "patent family" is a set of either patent applications or publications taken in multiple countries to protect a single invention by a common inventor(s) [25]. DPCI provides patent citation information from 10 organizations, including the EPO and

The Derwent Patent Index® (DWPI) and the Derwent Patent Citation Index® (DPCI) [23,24] were used to survey patent applications related to rabies control using the search strategy

Three articles reported rabies virus as the delivery of a substance to the brain, i.e., a neuronal tracer, and a vector [20–22]. This shows that research on rabies may contribute to neuroscience research.
