The fight against rabies in Africa: From recognition to action

As a follow-up to the first AfroREB meeting, held in Grand Bassam (Côte d'Ivoire) in March 2008, African rabies experts of the AfroREB network met a second time to complete the evaluation of the rabies situation in Africa and define specific action plans. About 40 French speaking rabies specialists from northern, western and central Africa and Madagascar met in Dakar (Senegal), from 16 to 19 March 2009. With the participation of delegates from Tunisia, who joined the AfroREB network this year, 15 French speaking African countries were represented. Experts from the Institut Pasteur in Paris, the Alliance for Rabies Control, and the Southern and Eastern African Rabies Group (SEARG, a network of rabies experts from 19 English speaking Southern and Eastern African countries) were in attendance, to participate in the discussion and share their experiences. It was unanimously agreed that the priority is to break the vicious cycle of indifference and lack of information which is the main barrier to human rabies prevention.