Rabies elimination: protecting vulnerable communities through their dogs.

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Bernadette Abela-Ridder and colleagues (November, 2016)1Abela-Ridder B Knopf L Martin S Taylor L Torres G De Balogh K 2016: the beginning of the end of rabies?.Lancet Glob Health. 2016; 4: e780-e781Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (43) Google Scholar describe the commendable joint efforts of WHO, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Organisation for Animal Health, and the Global Alliance for Rabies Control to control rabies on a global level, including their endorsement of a global framework to eliminate human deaths from dog-mediated rabies by 2030. Domestic dogs are the main reservoir of infection in regions of Africa and Asia in which human deaths from rabies are highest.2Department for EnvironmentFood and Rural AffairsRabies disease control strategy.https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/69523/pb13585-rabies-control-strategy-110630.pdfDate: 2011Google Scholar As Abela-Ridder and colleagues reinforce, preventing the transmission of rabies in canine populations is crucial. Additionally, surveillance and monitoring of rabies incidence within dog populations will become increasingly important. The global health community's focus for gauging the threat of rabies should not only include the tragic outcome of human deaths, but also the origin of the problem: unvaccinated canine populations in marginalised communities without access to veterinary care. Most free-roaming dogs in rabies-endemic areas are not feral, and belong to a household,3Cleaveland S Dye C Maintenance of a microparasite infecting several host species: rabies in the Serengeti.Parasitology. 1995; 111: S33-S47Crossref PubMed Scopus (113) Google Scholar forming an integral part of human communities as working animals and pets. Control and epidemic preparedness requires ongoing awareness of rabies in dogs, as sustainable elimination of human rabies cannot be achieved without elimination of the disease in the world's domestic dogs. Together with mass vaccination of domestic dogs, goals and targets for the elimination of dog rabies must be set, alongside the newly endorsed goal of eradicating human dog-mediated rabies by 2030. I declare no competing interests 2016: the beginning of the end of rabies?Sept 28 is the tenth annual World Rabies Day . It is a date that commemorates the anniversary of the 1895 death of Louis Pasteur, who developed the first human rabies vaccine. Modern effective vaccines, combined with other interventions, the necessary political will, and community awareness make the disease 100% preventable. Yet, an estimated 59 000 people still die from the disease every year.1 World Rabies Day is thus an uncomfortable reminder for the global health community of the ongoing neglect of this disease. Full-Text PDF Open AccessRabies elimination: protecting vulnerable communities through their dogs – Authors' replyThe Global Conference on Rabies recognised the important need for a multipronged initiative to reduce the rabies burden, which not only bridges the animal-human interface but also mandates a broad and inclusive multisectoral programme of work, as reflected in the five pillars of rabies elimination . The target of achieving zero human rabies deaths by 2030 includes mass vaccination of dogs as one of the essential building blocks. Full-Text PDF Open Access