Eliminate Rabies program reaches 50,000 dog vaccinations

eliminate-rabies

PULLMAN, Wash. – More than 99 percent of the people infected with rabies get it from the bite of an unvaccinated dog. Washington State University believes it can prevent those infections.

In 2016 to date, WSU and partners in the Serengeti Health Initiative have administered approximately 50,000 vaccines in Africa and project to provide over 120,000 by the end of the year, in part by developing a reliable vaccine bank and improved distribution. Since the inception of the project in 2003, it has administered more than 500,000 vaccinations.

Rabies is preventable, yet it kills nearly 60,000 people worldwide every year; half of them are children.

“Rabies is the deadliest disease that can be transmitted from animals to people and is, in fact, the most deadly infectious disease known to man with a case fatality rate of near 100 percent,” said Guy Palmer, a WSU regents professor of pathology, Jan and Jack Creighton Endowed Chair of Global Health and senior director of the Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health.

“On World Rabies Day (Sept. 28), it is the recognition among disease experts worldwide that a single global push to vaccinate and continue vaccinating as many dogs as possible will eliminate rabies among people,” he said. Consequently, the Allen School is working with the World Health Organization to eliminate rabies with the goal of no human deaths by 2030.

The project has an initial goal to raise $10 million to catalyze its reach to other parts of Africa. Funds raised locally and globally will be used to develop a reliable vaccine bank and improved distribution. The school will conduct research to learn how to best work between countries where border regions are critical.

Local to global

Through the Allen School’s Eliminate Rabies project, partners – including veterinary clinics around the U.S. – are aligning with the effort because they understand the global impact of rabies and the extraordinary opportunity available to eliminate the disease in people.

“Logistically, we can get vaccines to the most remote parts of the world,” Palmer said. “We can set up and provide rabies vaccination clinics. And we know the clinics are extremely popular among people who face this risk daily.

“With a local to global advocacy effort, eliminating rabies in people globally is now completely attainable in our lifetime,” he said.

The Allen School is working with veterinary clinics in the Pacific Northwest like the Bothell Pet Hospital, whose doctors are an integral part in the lifesaving effort.

“As we educated our staff and further educated ourselves on the issue, our feelings have transformed into a dedication to teach others and see this project through to its finish,” said Shannon Smith, Bothell Pet Hospital veterinarian.

“Here in the Unites States, contracting rabies is not a daily concern,” she said. “Being so far removed from the problem, most of our clients don’t realize that people are still dying from this virus. One client was shocked when I explained this to her and said, ‘Had I known this was a problem, I would have donated long ago!’”

About the Eliminate Rabies project

Through the Eliminate Rabies project $10 will vaccinate a child’s dog from rabies and distemper, another major cause of mortality in young dogs. Ask your veterinarians if they are a part of this critical program.

A gift of any amount will move the effort closer to realizing a world where no child dies from canine rabies. To help, contact Christi Cotterill, WSU College of Veterinary Medicine assistant development director, at cotterill@vetmed.wsu.edu or 206-219-2402

 

Contact:
Charlie Powell, WSU College of Veterinary Medicine public information officer, cell/text 509-595-2017, cpowell@vetmed.wsu.edu

 

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