The world is celebrating the 16th World Rabies Day today, the 28th of September under the theme: “One Health, Zero Death”. Rabies is one of the world’s most deadly disease with 99 percent of confirmed cases ending in fatalities. “There is no treatment once signs or symptoms of the disease begin, and the disease is fatal in humans and animals within 1–2 weeks of symptom onset,” Dr. Jesse D. Blanton – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The disease is spread to humans through the saliva, bites and scratches from infected animals. Dogs are the main source of human rabies deaths, contributing up to 99% of all rabies transmissions to humans. The theme “One Health, Zero Death” implies, “Zero by 30: Global Strategic Plan for the elimination of dog-mediated human rabies deaths by 2030 is an ambitious document with achievable targets. It is aligned with the new NTD road map that prioritizes integrated interventions and mainstreaming of NTD programmes within national health systems,” according to the World Health Organization.
Is your dog vaccinated? The only method of prevention of the disease is by vaccinating the pets we have at home. The first step of protection is vaccination.
