Eradicating rabies at source

Along with zoonotic influenza and antimicrobial resistance, rabies has been identified as a key One Health issue by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), World Health Organization (WHO) and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). It provides an excellent example of a disease that has an impact on public, animal and environmental health, and therefore benefits from a One Health approach to management. Regrettably, this zoonotic disease is still neglected despite the fact that, annually, it kills as many as 70,000 people worldwide (chiefly children in Asia and Africa), millions of dogs suffer and die, and the disease threatens some populations of endangered wildlife. This is particularly unfortunate, given that effective means of prevention exist. As Her Royal Highness Princess Haya of Jordan pointed out in a video to mark World Rabies Day on 28 September 2013, rabies is a serious world public health problem that is all too often underestimated and even neglected. Yet we know it can be eliminated. By combatting rabies at its source in animals and vaccinating 70% of dogs, we can eradicate it.