The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has stated that Latin America and the Caribbean are moving closer to their goal of achieving the elimination of human deaths by rabies.
According to a PAHO announcement on the eve of World Rabies Day – 28 September, over the last 12 months, just five cases were reported in the Region. In a press release marking World Rabies Day, the organization stated that it has established the goal of eliminating human deaths from rabies by 2022 and today, Haiti and the Dominican Republic are the only countries in the region where people have died from rabies.
World Rabies Day is celebrated annually on September 28 and this year’s theme is “Rabies: Vaccinate to Eliminate,” which serves to highlight the importance of a global commitment to end canine transmission of the disease to humans. It is organised by the Global Alliance for Rabies Control (GARC) which aims to raise awareness about prevention of this disease and highlight the progress made towards elimination. The 28th of September also marks the anniversary of the death of Louis Pasteur, the French chemist and microbiologist, who developed the first rabies vaccine.
Since 1982, when PAHO began to coordinate anti-rabies initiatives in the region, countries have reduced new cases of rabies in humans by more than 95% and rabies in dogs by 98%. As a result, infections in persons fell from 258 to 13 by 2018, and infections in dogs fell from 11,276 to 163 during the same period. This progress, PAHO states, was due to the implementation of regional canine vaccination campaigns, greater public awareness of the issue, and the expansion and availability of rabies treatment administered following a bite.
According to PAHO Director, Carissa F. Etienne, “There have been undeniable achievements in recent decades, particularly regarding the drastic reduction in human deaths caused by the disease,”
Rabies is a disease with important implications on public health, due to its mortality rate as there is no cure. Globally, 60,000 people die from the disease each year, mostly in Asia and Africa. However, the disease can be eliminated, particularly in urban areas where it is transmitted by dogs and cats, by engaging in strategies that include, the implementation of preventative measures such as animal vaccines, the availability of anti-rabies treatment for humans and the post-exposure vaccine, and by stopping outbreaks.
The only way to interrupt rabies transmission, PAHO says, is to vaccinate at least 80% of the canine population in endemic areas. In the region of the Americas, approximately 100 million dogs are vaccinated each year.
