Rabies is a completely preventable disease. Free vaccination campaign, Sierra LeoneWHO/ D. Brussaard Rabies causes thousands of deaths every year despite the existence of tools that can prevent and manage the disease. It is mainly transmitted to humans through the bite of a dog infected with the virus. Most cases of human rabies occur in rural areas where effective treatments, such as human vaccines and immunoglobulins, are not readily available or accessible. Although many countries are stepping up efforts to improve their response, extra measures are required to completely eliminate the disease. This Fact File has been released for World Rabies Day 2014 by WHO’s Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases. Human dog-mediated-rabies: strengthening capacity and raising awareness are crucial for elimination 24 September 2012 | Geneva Young girl proudly showing her vaccinated dog, wearing a red collar – A symbol of the vaccination programme in Bali, Indonesia, 2010. ©WSPA/Elly Hiby A World Health Organization (WHO) International Expert Consultation on rabies has urged countries endemic for canine rabies to initiate and strengthen their rabies prevention and control activities, and to increase the level of awareness about the disease, particularly among children. “A re-assessment of the burden of rabies made during the meeting showed that 50 000 people, mostly in Africa and Asia, still die in spite of 20 million others receiving post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) worldwide,” said Dr François Meslin, Team Leader for Neglected Zoonotic Diseases at WHO’s Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases. “Data show that the majority of fatal cases involve people from poor, rural communities without access to dog bite management centres and rabies biologicals. Also, too many PEP delivered in the world today are not administered to the right people.” Rabies is a neglected disease of poor and vulnerable populations. Once an individual is infected with the virus – usually through the bite of a rabid dog – and the symptoms develop, rabies is nearly always fatal. The main obstacle to assessing the incidence of the disease is under reporting and misdiagnosis of human rabies cases. The disease occurs mainly in remote rural communities where PEP is not accessible and where effective measures to prevent the disease in its major animal host – the dog – are not implemented. Under-reporting prevents mobilization of resources and undermines implementation of control and prevention measures, such as dog vaccination. who.int/features/factfiles/rabies/en/ searo.who.int/entity/emerging_diseases/topics/RabiesDay2013/en/ who.int/neglected_diseases/human_dog_mediated_rabies_2012/en/
Posted on: Sat, 27 Sep 2014 19:19:57 +0000
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