DogExpress
Australian-based international animal charity, Vets Beyond Borders (VBB) promotes World rabies day that will be held on 28 September 2018. With the help of this occasion, the charity wants to draw Australia’s attention towards the deadly dog-mediated disease.
VBB CEO Maryann Dalton said, “Rabies kills thousands of people around the world every year. It is nearly always fatal—only a few people in the world have survived treatment. But it’s 100 per cent preventable by vaccination.”
Rabies infection
Rabies infection is caused by the rabies virus, which is spread through the saliva of infected animals by biting another animal or a person, and it is always fatal once clinical symptoms appear.
In Asia and Africa, approximately 59,000 people die every year due to the rabies infection, and 40% of them are children.
“Dog bites cause almost all human cases of rabies. We can prevent rabies deaths through increased awareness, vaccinating dogs to prevent disease at its source, and timely life-saving post-bite treatment for people,” Dalton said.
Awareness programs for rabies prevention
Through its VetMatch and VetTrain programs, VBB deploys volunteer veterinarians, veterinary nurses and other animal welfare workers across the globe to deliver animal health and community awareness programs where they are desperately needed.
In india which carries a third of the world’s rabies burden, VBB has created the Sikkim Anti-Rabies and Animal Health (SARAH) program to provide canine rabies vaccination, humane dog population control, community education and treatment of sick and injured animals.
“The SARAH program is the first state-wide rabies program in India and generates tremendous results with a small dedicated staff and VBB volunteers working with very basic facilities,” Dalton said.
World Rabies Day is created and coordinated annually by Global Alliance for Rabies Control (GARC) and is the first and only global day of action and awareness for rabies prevention.
Click here for GARC World Rabies Day awareness events in Australia.
Reference: Vet Practice Magazine
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