Help keep it in check

WORLD Rabies Day is an international campaign co-ordinated by the Global Alliance for Rabies Control, a non-profit organisation with headquarters in the US and Britain.

It takes place each year on September 28, the anniversary of the death of Louis Pasteur, who developed the first efficacious rabies vaccine.

The World Veterinary Association and the World Medical Association have joined forces to mark World Rabies Day by calling for human rabies contracted from unvaccinated dogs infected with rabies to be eradicated by 2030 in collaboration with the End Rabies Now campaign initiated by the Global Alliance for Rabies Control.

Dr René Carlson, president of the World Veterinary Association, said: “Rabies is one of the deadliest diseases we know. Yet it is preventable if several measures are followed.

“Some of these measures include mass vaccination programmes of dogs, humane population control of dogs through spay and neuter programmes, community education about rabies and dog bite prevention, the importance of dog bite medical treatment, and availability of rabies vaccine therapy after exposure.”

She points out that when a person is bitten by a suspected rabid animal, that person must seek immediate medical care and be evaluated for rabies vaccine therapy.

If possible, the animal that bit the person should be examined, quarantined at an appropriate location or euthanised for rabies virus infection verification by a qualified laboratory.

Once symptoms of rabies appear, the disease is nearly always fatal.

Canine vaccination and responsible pet ownership are essential measures to avoid this fate.