GAVI investment should accelerate rabies “zero by 30” aspiration

Abstract

Rabies has been known to humankind for at least 4000 years. In Eastern culture, rabies was considered a “curse,” ordained by destiny, to be treated by mystics and mendicants, but inevitably ending in agonizing, torturous death. Around 59,000 rabies deaths still occur annually, and rabies remains a significant public health problem in many countries in Asia, South and Central America, and Africa, where unvaccinated, unowned, and stray dogs roam freely. The highest-risk countries for travelers include Bolivia, China, Haiti, Nepal, Philippines, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam. Most human rabies infections in the Americas and Europe are due to rabid wild animal bites, including bats. Rabies has the highest fatality rate of any infectious disease. Although great strides have been made in making safe and effective vaccines, these do not reach all those ex posed, hence the mortality due to rabies continues unabated.