World Rabies Day: 28 September 2007

Working together to make rabies history!

PAHO Press Release: English | español

Rabies Elimination:
Speech by PAHO Director:
English |  español

 Training presentations (2 Mb)
(PowerPoint, with notes, 8/17 slides)
General: English |  español |
français |  português
Learning: English |  español |
français |  português

Video: Elimination of Dog-Transmitted Human Rabies: English | Spanish

Videos from PAHO's Monica's Gang Series, Caring for Your Pet
1. Prevent Dog    Attacks 2. A Happy Puppy	3. I Want a Puppy 4. Vaccinate Your    Pets
Also available here

English |  español |
français |  português

More on Rabies in the Americas

Regional center for zoonoses

WHO Treatment Guide (PDF, 24 pp, 165 Kb):
  English |  español |
français |  português

Surveillance Guidelines

Expert Meeting on Rabies in Vampire Bats in the Amazon Region

  Photos, Rabies Activities in Haiti:
Report (5 pp, PDF, 130 Kb): English |
français | español |  português

Country Data: Consult data in SIRVERA, Epidemiological Surveillance System for Rabies & SIEPI, Epidemiological Information System.
 

Evaluation Methodology: Elimination of Human & Dog Rabies in Latin America

Results of the Study: Elimination of Dog-Transmitted Human Rabies in Latin America: Situation Analysis

Plan of Action for Rabies Prevention & Control in the Americas, 2005–2009

Epidemiological Situation of Rabies in Latin America in 2004, PAHO Epidemiological Bulletin, Vol 26, No. 1, March 2005)

REDIPRA: Meetings of Directors of National Programs for Rabies Control in Latin America

RIMSA: Inter-American Meeting, at Ministerial Level, on Health and Agriculture

PAHO Links
- Rabies
- Zoonoses / Animal Health
- Veterinary Public Health
- Virtual Library in Veterinary Public Health (VHL)

WHO Links
- Fact Sheet Rabies
- Zoonoses & Veterinary Public Health: Rabies
- Human & Animal Rabies: A Neglected Zoonotic Disease
- General Surveillance Information
- Current WHO Guide for Rabies Pre- & Post-Exposure Treatment in Humans
- Rabies & Envenomings: A Neglected Public Health Issue
- Expert Consultation
- Rabies Publications

WRD Website |  Inaugural Outcomes, Achievements & Future Directions |  Working together to make rabies history! |  Campaign Overview |
Global Breadth |  Sponsors

Looking Ahead: The global response to the inaugural World Rabies Day on 8 September 2007 illustrates widespread recognition of the need for action to control this devastating, but easily preventable disease. Strong partnerships were forged with key international and national organizations, partners and a multitude of professional organizations and networks.

Working Together to Make Rabies History! The World Rabies Day campaign is committed to its objective of raising awareness and resources to enhance prevention and control of rabies, with the overall vision of successful human rabies prevention and elimination of dog-to-dog transmission of rabies. During the 2008 campaign, we will continue to invite local, national and global rabies prevention stakeholders to be partners in this important initiative. The expected outcome of cross-agency partnering activities is to encourage and support coordinated rabies vaccination of dog populations, education of humans about the risk of rabies and when to seek postexposure prophylaxis, and facilitating access to human rabies biologicals, most especially post-exposure prophylaxis.

Help Make Rabies History! Rabies is a terrible, yet preventable disease with approximately half of all human rabies deaths occuring in children under the age of 15. Unfortunately, rabies continues to cause considerable suffering for people and their animals and can also have a devastating impact on livestock and wildlife populations. If you would like to support the World Rabies Day initiative, please visit our website to make your tax-deductible donation.

World Rabies Day is an initiative of the Alliance for Rabies Control, of which PAHO is proud to be a sponsor.

Campaign Overview: The objective of World Rabies Day is to raise awareness and enhance prevention and control of rabies. The inaugural campaign on 8 September 2007 was celebrated globally as a great success and an important step forward for rabies prevention and control. The Alliance for Rabies Control (ARC), in collaboration with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), was proud to spearhead this effort with tremendous partnerships from numerous international leaders in the field of rabies. The World Rabies Day coordinating team is particularly appreciative of the many volunteer World Rabies Day event coordinators around the world.

Global Breadth: At least 74 countries participated in World Rabies Day by planning a wide variety of events including: vaccination clinics, lectures and educational seminars, media outreach, museum and zoo exhibits, parades, festivals, dances, puppet shows, marches, runs, and dog walks. Numerous countries had events in every state. In many countries, rabies experts convened to discuss goals and plans for rabies prevention and control, with several countries initiating a national Rabies Control Program in honor of this event. Veterinary colleges around the world also joined forces towards this effort, with 24 colleges participating in the United States and Caribbean, 15 in India, 5 in Indonesia, and several in Mexico, Peru, the Philippines, and in some African countries.

Outcomes & Achievements: With the initial goal of engaging 55,000 people to take action, one for each person who dies each year from rabies, hundreds of events were coordinated worldwide in observance of World Rabies Day. To thoroughly evaluate the success of the inaugural campaign, a feedback form was disseminated to partners and participants. Current summary data indicates that over 393,000 people took action on World Rabies Day. Mass education and outreach events—such as the week-long celebration in Hisar, India, the region-wide participation of 18 countries in Latin America, and the national television broadcast in Nigeria by the Minister of Health that aired on the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA)—helped to educate more than 54.3 million people worldwide. Over 600,000 animal vaccinations were administered and 98% of the respondents indicated that they plan to host a World Rabies Day event for 2008. | Outcomes 2007 (color brochure)

Sponsors: World Rabies Day is an initiative of the Alliance for Rabies Control (ARC). The World Rabies Day Team would like to thank all of our partners from numerous organizations throughout the world who helped make the first World Rabies Day a success. Special thanks to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), World Health Organization (WHO), Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).