Raising rabies awareness
SANDRINGHAM - In recognition of World Rabies Day, a symposium at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases raised awareness of the most fatal disease known to humankind.
“Rabies is one hundred percent fatal. It’s also one hundred percent preventable,” said Dr Jacqueline Weyer of the institute.
Speaking at the institute’s symposium, Weyer was joined at the podium by fellow experts, Terence Scott of the Global Alliance for Rabies Control, Dr Sunelle Strydom of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Prof. Lucille Blumberg of the institute and Prof. Wanda Markotter of the University of Pretoria, in an effort to raise the profile of the deadly disease.
One of the oldest known infectious diseases, rabies annually kills 72 000 people worldwide, the majority in Africa and Asia. Individuals exposed to rabies through the saliva of an infected animal (via bites, scratches, or a lick to open wounds or mucous membranes) can be saved by quick administration of a post-exposure prophylaxis.
However, due to the procedure’s complication and expense, as well as lack of expertise to administer the procedure among health professionals, many cases go unrecognised or inadequately handled –- and treatment is impossible once symptoms show.
Nevertheless, health experts insist that rabies is easily preventable.
“Any death is unacceptable,” said Scott, emphasising that vaccination of dogs will effectively control the disease in which 95 percent of human cases are caused by scratches or bites from infected dogs.
Widespread pet vaccination is also financially viable. A single vaccine costs less than R10, against R3 000 for post-exposure prophylaxis administration. However, for control, 70 percent of the canine population must be vaccinated – a process requiring long-term investment.
While such programmes in KwaZulu-Natal have met with success, rabies remains both endemic and neglected.
Through efforts such as World Rabies Day, the institute and other organisations pour their energies into educating rural and urban populations in responsible pet ownership and animal treatment, including the legal obligation to vaccinate pets and report suspected rabies outbreaks. By raising awareness of rabies and its easy prevention, such organisations hope eventually to eliminate a disease that has affected human populations for centuries.
