Every year, since 2006, World Rabies Day is celebrated on September 28, to not just mark the death anniversary of Louis Pasteur, the French chemist and microbiologist, who developed the first rabies vaccine but also to raise awareness about rabies prevention and to highlight progress in defeating this disease. This year, the day will mark the 18th World Rabies Day.
This year’s theme “Breaking Rabies Boundaries” highlights that Health is not for a selected few but for everyone. By breaking boundaries, we can overcome geographic, socio-economic, and educational barriers, ensuring widespread vaccination, awareness, and access to medical care. This theme highlights the need for cross-sectoral and cross-border collaborations, bringing together governments, health organisations, veterinary services, and communities.
One person dies of rabies every nine minutes: WHO
As per World Health Organization (WHO), Rabies is estimated to cause 59 000 human deaths annually in over 150 countries, that’s one person every nine minutes every day, 40% of whom are children living in Asia and Africa. 95% of rabies cases occur in Africa and Asia. Due to underreporting and uncertain estimates, this number is likely a gross underestimate. The burden of disease is disproportionally borne by rural poor populations, with approximately half of cases attributable to children under 15 years of age.
As dog bites cause almost all human cases, we can prevent rabies deaths by increasing awareness, vaccinating dogs to prevent the disease at its source and administering life-saving treatment after people have been bitten. The world has vaccines, medicines, tools and technologies to prevent people from dying from dog-mediated rabies. For a relatively low cost it is possible to break the disease cycle and save lives.
Rabies in India
Rabies, which has been recognized for more than 4,000 years, was initially observed in ancient Mesopotamia and India, with early texts such as the Susruta Samhita mentioning its symptoms. The first inactivated rabies vaccine was developed by the Pasteur Institute of India (PII) in 1970. In 1970, the PII created India’s first native trivalent oral polio vaccine.
National Status
India is endemic to rabies, a viral disease that is preventable with a vaccine. According to WHO, the country is responsible for 36% of the world’s rabies deaths. The National Health Profile (NHP) reported that rabies incidence in India declined from 2.36 to 0.41 per 10 million people between 2005 and 2020. In 2022, 307 people died from rabies in India, with the highest numbers of cases in Maharashtra, West Bengal, Karnataka, Delhi and Andhra Pradesh.
As of July 30, 2024, a total of 280 people died from dog bites in India in 2023. There were also nearly three million dog bite cases reported in the country that year.
Zero human dog-mediated rabies deaths by 2030
In 2015, the world called for action by setting a goal of zero human dog-mediated rabies deaths by 2030, worldwide. Now, for the first time, four organizations – the World Health Organizaton (WHO), the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Global Alliance for Rabies Control (GARC) – have joined forces, as the United Against Rabies collaboration, and are determined to reach this goal.
Today, as the world commemorates 18th World Rabies Day today, the Quadripartite agencies (FAO, UNEP, WHO, and WOAH) and the Global Alliance for Rabies Control (GARC), in the Africa region, make a clarion call on all stakeholders to reflect on the annual theme for 2024, for a rabies free earth.
Key facts
• Rabies is a serious public health problem in over 150 countries and territories, mainly in Asia and Africa. It is a viral, zoonotic, neglected tropical disease that causes tens of thousands of deaths annually, with 40% being children under 15.
• Dog bites and scratches cause 99% of the human rabies cases, and can be prevented through dog vaccination and bite prevention.
• Once the virus infects the central nervous system and clinical symptoms appear, rabies is fatal in 100% of cases.
• However, rabies deaths are preventable with prompt post exposure prophylaxis (PEP) by stopping the virus from reaching the central nervous system. PEP consists of thorough wound washing, administration of a course of human rabies vaccine and, when indicated, rabies immunoglobulins (RIG).
• If a person is bitten or scratched by a potentially rabid animal, they should immediately and always seek PEP care.
• WHO and its global partners aim to end human deaths from dog-mediated rabies through a comprehensive One Health approach promoting mass dog vaccination, ensuring access to PEP, health worker training, improved surveillance, and bite prevention through community awareness.
