Rabies
Rabies is a vaccine-preventable viral disease which occurs in more than 150 countries and territories. Dogs are the main source of human rabies deaths, contributing up to 99% of all rabies transmissions to humans.
Worldwide Rabies Statistics
- One death every 15 minutes is recorded worldwide.
- 40% of people bitten by suspect rabid animals are children under 15 years of age.
- 4 out of 10 deaths are in children.
- Infection causes tens of thousands of deaths every year, mainly in Asia and Africa.
Rabies Statistics in India
Nearly 96% of cases are due to bites from stray, ownerless, dogs.
- Each year approximately 7 million people undergo post exposure rabies treatment after a dog bite.
- Majority (75%) of animal bite victims belong to poor or low-income group.
- 40-65% of dog bite victims are children <15 years.
World Rabies Day
World Rabies Day is held annually on September 28. It is the anniversary of the death of Louis Pasteur, who developed the first rabies vaccine and laid the foundations of rabies prevention.
Rabies: Zero by 30 is a campaign run by The Global Alliance for Rabies Control (GARC), the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to eliminate human deaths from canine rabies by 2030.
Aims:
- To promotes awareness about rabies prevention
- To reduce rabies transmission
History of Rabies immunization
On July 6, 1885, Louis Pasteur and his colleagues injected the first of 14 daily doses of rabbit spinal cord suspensions containing progressively inactivated rabies virus into 9-year-old Joseph Meister, who had been severely bitten by a rabid dog 2 days before. This was the beginning of the modern era of immunization, which had been presaged by Edward Jenner nearly 100 years earlier.
Pathogenesis of Rabies
Rabies is a viral disease which affects all mammals. It is usually contracted through a bite from an infected animal, though transmission can occur if the virus is introduced onto any mucous membrane (eyes, nose, and mouth).
- Virus is introduced through a bite.
- Virus moves slowly as it jumps from nerve cell to nerve cellon its way to the brain.
- The time it takes the virus to go from the bite wound to the brainis the incubation period.
- Virus is distributed from brain to salivary glands. It is infectious but still acts normal.
- Animal brain is infected enough to affect behavior.
Rabies prevention
- Visit your veterinarian with your pet on a regular basis and keep rabies vaccinations up-to-date for all cats, ferrets, and dogs.
- Maintain control of your pets by keeping cats and ferrets indoors and keeping dogs under direct supervision.
- Spay or neuter your pets to help reduce the number of unwanted pets that may not be properly cared for or vaccinated regularly.
- Call the animal control to remove all stray animals from your neighborhood since these animals may be unvaccinated or ill.
Rabies vaccine
- Preventive vaccination (no exposure)
The pre-exposure schedule for rabies vaccination is 3 doses, given at the following times:
- Dose 1: As appropriate
- Dose 2: 7 days after Dose 1
- Dose 3: 21 days or 28 days after Dose 1
- Vaccination after an exposure
Anyone who has been bitten by an animal, or who otherwise may have been exposed to rabies, should clean the wound and see a doctor immediately. The doctor will determine if they need to be vaccinated.
Activities to do:
- Sign in to page, “pledge to end rabies now” to join the End Rabies Now campaign. Click on the below link to join: https://endrabiesnow.org/take-action
- Share your knowledge with others to prevent spread of rabies.
References