World Rabies Day: A United Front for a Rabies-Free World

World Rabies Day: A United Front for a Rabies-Free World

Marking the 17th World Rabies Day

On September 28th, 2023, the world marked the 17th World Rabies Day, an annual event celebrated to raise awareness about rabies prevention and underscore the progress made in eradicating this terrifying disease. With the theme “All for 1, One Health for all,” this year’s event aimed to highlight the concept of One Health. This approach recognizes that the health of people is closely connected to the health of animals and our shared environment, and it is not for a select few but for everyone.

The One Health Approach and Rabies Control

Rabies control programs offer an excellent example of the operationalization of One Health, building the structures and trust that are critical to establishing systems for other zoonotic diseases, including those with pandemic potential. By ensuring equitable access to health services and rabies post-exposure prophylaxis for underserved communities, lives are saved, and national health systems are strengthened.

With the Zero by 30 Global Strategic Plan, the global community shares the goal of eliminating dog-mediated human rabies deaths by 2030. With the necessary vaccines, medicines, tools, and technologies at their disposal, it is possible to break the cycle of one of the oldest known diseases. The emphasis is on unity and inclusivity, with the understanding that rabies elimination can be achieved by working together, leaving no one behind.

Recognizing the Origins of World Rabies Day

The annual event also marks the anniversary of Louis Pasteur’s death. Pasteur was a renowned French chemist and microbiologist who developed the first rabies vaccine. Today, safe and effective animal and human vaccines are among the essential tools that exist to eliminate human deaths from rabies, while awareness remains the key driver for communities to engage in effective rabies prevention.

Spreading Awareness and Promoting Prevention

The objective of celebrating World Rabies Day is to spread awareness about rabies and promote its prevention. Rabies is a viral disease that causes inflammation of the brain in humans and animals. Its near-uniform fatality once symptoms appear makes it a significant threat. However, the disease is preventable through vaccination and other preventive measures. The day focuses on spreading information about better care of animals and dealing with adverse conditions like rabies.

Ongoing Efforts and Challenges

Despite the devastating nature of rabies, the disease persists across several continents, claiming an estimated 60,000 lives globally each year, with children making up 40% of the victims. Dog bites are the primary cause of rabies cases in humans, emphasizing the importance of controlling rabies in the canine population to prevent human infections.

As the international community works toward the shared goal of achieving zero deaths from dog-transmitted rabies by 2030, ongoing efforts are essential to combat the disease and protect both animal and human populations from its deadly impact. The COVID-19 pandemic has posed additional challenges in this fight, but it has also raised global awareness about the importance of vaccines for saving lives.

Moving Forward: United for a Rabies-Free World

This year’s World Rabies Day underscored the importance of a collaborative, interdisciplinary approach to effectively combat rabies. It highlighted the crucial roles played by professionals in human, animal, and environmental health sectors in preventing the spread of rabies. By uniting under the banner of “All for 1, One Health for All,” the world can strive for a future free from the threat of rabies.