Rabies Today

In the run up to World Rabies Day, an urgent need to ramp up public and health worker knowledge about this dangerous and deadly disease, not only in rabies-endemic countries but also in countries free from rabies. British nurse Robyn Thomson, whose mother died after a scratch from a puppy in Morocco, shares her  determination to raise rabies awareness across the UK's health sector. We also preview a 28-day countdown to World Rabies Day and a new series of community education films in multiple languages. WHO’s rabies lead Dr Bernadette Abela reflects on the current funding environment and urges us all to ‘stay creative’.

Hosted by Dr Katie Hampson, University of Glasgow, with guests Robyn Thomson;  Kerenza Vlastou, Community and Outreach Director, GARC; Sarah Beeching, Adviser to United Against Rabies and Dr Bernadette Abela, Rabies Lead, Malaria and NTD team, World Health Organization. With contributions from Dr Madi Savadogo, Burkina Faso and Dr James Ngatia, Kenya. 

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Rabies Today is produced by United Against Rabies: working together to  end human deaths from dog-mediated rabies by 2030. 

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In Ukraine, rabies is rising among abandoned pets, and could spread to surrounding countries in Europe. We hear an urgent call for mass vaccination and sterilisation of dogs to avert catastrophe. In Tanzania,  international endorsement of the national rabies control plan is helping to secure more funding. And we are reminded of the critical importance of immediate and thorough wound-washing in any suspected rabies case. Unicef is keen to increase rabies awareness among children, families and health workers at community level and we introduce some practical new tools and resources from WHO to assist countries in their roll out of human rabies vaccines for PEP.

Hosted by Professor Katie Hampson from the University of Glasgow with Dan Fine, documentary producer of “War Tails”, Dr Samwel Mngumi of Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries in Tanzania, Ida-Marie Ameda, Unicef's Global Lead for Malaria and NTDs, and Dr Katie Corridan, World Health Organization.

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Rabies Today is produced by United Against Rabies: working together to  end human deaths from dog-mediated rabies by 2030. 

www.unitedagainstrabies.org

The battle against rabies is complex and difficult.  But imagine having to fight rabies in a country at war.  In this episode, we meet three people working in enormously challenging circumstances in Afghanistan, South Sudan and Ukraine.

 From Ukraine we learn that soldiers on the front line are being put at risk of rabies as abandoned animals reproduce and are running wild. In Afghanistan, international isolation makes vaccine procurement extremely difficult. And in South Sudan internal conflict further complicates rabies control efforts hindered by under-development.

Join Professor Katie Hampson and her guests:
Olha Vasylyshyn, Adoption Counsellor, Zoo Patrol Ukraine
Dr Jalil Mohammadzai, Afghanistan Country Director, Mayhew International
Dr Kevin Miheso, South Sudan Country Director, VSF Suisse 

Published December 2024

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Rabies Today is produced by United Against Rabies: working together to  end human deaths from dog-mediated rabies by 2030. 

www.unitedagainstrabies.org

South African rabies expert Kevin Le Roux told colleages at the United Against Rabies Forum in Cape Town that rabies data will never be perfect, so what is vital is to act to control the disease and save lives. Meanwhile Dr Joseph Nkhoma of Malawi points out that lack of data is a huge impediment to getting political and financial support for rabies control. 

Another hot topic at the UAR forum was the economic costs of rabies to lives and livelihoods - and who should pay for dog vaccination: ministries of health, or ministries of agriculture?

Join Professor Katie Hampson for this special edition from the United Against Rabies Forum meeting in South Africa. Her guests include:

Kevin Le Roux, Chair, National Rabies Advisory Group, South Africa
Dr Joseph Nkhoma, National Rabies Focal Point, Ministry of Agriculture, Malawi
Ida-Marie Ameda, Global Malaria and NTD Adviser, Unicef
Professor James Wabacha, Animal Health Expert Consultant, AU IBAR
Dr Kavosa Mudoga, Action for Protection of Animals Africa
Dr Ryan Wallace, US Centers for Disease Control

and also Dr Naseem Salahuddin, Pakistan; Dr Kanana Kimonya, Kenya; Dr Dereje, Ethiopia; Dr John Gokwisa, Tanzania; Dr Thierry Ouattara, Cote d’Ivoire and Dr Simbarashe Mabaya, Gavi. 

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Rabies Today is produced by United Against Rabies: working together to  end human deaths from dog-mediated rabies by 2030. 

www.unitedagainstrabies.org

World Rabies Day is September 28th, an important day for community mobilization around dog vaccination and raising public awareness. But what's really successful when working with communities? And what is happening at national and international levels around World Rabies Day? This episode introduces the new Chair of United Against Rabies, Dr Lucille Blumberg, and also looks forward to the annual meeting of United Against Rabies partners in Cape Town.

Hosted by Professor Katie Hampson, University of Glasgow, with
Bosco Chinkonda, PhD Research Student, Malawi/UK
Dr Terence Scott, Director of Programs, Global Alliance for Rabies Control
Dr Lucille Blumberg, Chair, United Against Rabies; National Institute for Communicable Diseases, South Africa.

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Rabies Today is produced by United Against Rabies: working together to  end human deaths from dog-mediated rabies by 2030. 

www.unitedagainstrabies.org

Rabies still kills at least 25,000 people each year in Africa, many of them children. It also kills huge numbers of livestock animals at great cost to farming and pastoral communities.

In this episode, Katie Hampson reports from northern Tanzania where there has been some progress in bringing rabies under control, but also meets a family whose son has recently been infected.

Across Africa, the people most vulnerable to rabies usually live in remote and rural areas, where dog vaccination rates are low, awareness of the disease is limited, and human rabies vaccines for PEP are often unavailable.

Also in this episode we go to Nigeria to find out how dog meat is linked to rabies, South Africa for the latest on rabies in seals, and we hear about plans for a continent-wide rabies control strategy.

Rabies Today is hosted by Professor Katie Hampson of the University of Glasgow.

Her guests in this episode are: 

Dr Huyam Salih, Director, AU-Inter-African Bureau of Animal Resources

Dr Christian Tetteh Duamor, Rabies Elimination Project, Tanzania

Dr Grace Kia, Lecturer and founder of War Against Rabies foundation, Nigeria

Dr Lesley van Helden, State Veterinary Service, Western Cape, South Africa. 

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Rabies Today is produced by United Against Rabies: working together to  end human deaths from dog-mediated rabies by 2030. 

www.unitedagainstrabies.org

Human rabies vaccines for PEP save lives by stopping the deadly virus reaching the central nervous system. But these lifesaving vaccines are often unavailable or unaffordable, especially in marginalized communities in Asia and Africa where rabies is still a significant public health problem.

On 12 June 2024, Gavi begins the rollout of a new program to help over 50 countries to access human rabies vaccines, potentially saving hundreds of thousands of lives and catalyzing more sustainable approaches to rabies elimination. This episode explains Gavi’s offer, what it aims to achieve and what countries need to do to qualify for support.

Rabies Today is produced by United Against Rabies, and hosted by Professor Katie Hampson of Glasgow University.

In this Episode, Katie is joined by:

• Dr Simbarashe Mabaya, Senior Technical Adviser, Gavi
• Dr Bernadette Abela, Global Program for NTDs, WHO
• Dr Marybeth Maritim, Senior Lecturer at University of Nairobi; Consultant Physician in Infectious and Zoonotic Diseases and NTDs; Chair Rabies Working Group of Kenya’s National Immunisation Technical Advisory Group, Kenitag
• Prof Bassirou Bonfoh, Veterinary Epidemiologist, Senior Scientist at Swiss Centre of Scientific Research in Côte d'Ivoire; Director Afrique One/ One Health

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Rabies Today is produced by United Against Rabies: working together to  end human deaths from dog-mediated rabies by 2030. 

www.unitedagainstrabies.org

Dog-mediated rabies is on the rise in Southeast Asia, including in areas that were previously rabies free. Could a new ASEAN strategy finally turn the tide in the region to address low dog vaccination rates, insufficient provision of human rabies vaccines for PEP and lack of resources? And how are rabies concerns driving regulation of the dog meat trade?

Rabies Today is produced by United Against Rabies, and hosted by Professor Katie Hampson of Glasgow University.

Katie is joined by:

• Dr Pebi Purwo Suseno, Senior Veterinary Officer, Directorate of Animal Health, Ministry of Agriculture, Indonesia
• Dr Mary Elizabeth (Betsy) Miranda, public health veterinarian from the Philippines
• Lola Webber, Consultant, Humane Society International
• With a special contribution from Chonnikarn Phochanakij (also known as Pom) from 4 Paws International in Thailand.

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Rabies Today is produced by United Against Rabies: working together to  end human deaths from dog-mediated rabies by 2030. 

www.unitedagainstrabies.org

Professor Katie Hampson will be back soon with a new series of Rabies Today. Stay tuned! 

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Join the conversation by using the hashtag #RabiesToday.

Rabies Today is produced by United Against Rabies: working together to  end human deaths from dog-mediated rabies by 2030. 

www.unitedagainstrabies.org

"Zero by 30" is the Global Strategic Plan to achieve zero human deaths from dog- mediated rabies by 2030. It was published in 2018, well before the pandemic. With just 7 years to go, can “Zero by 30” still be achieved? What progress has been made since the goal was set? Does it need to be extended? Join host Prof Katie Hampson and her expert guests as they map out international priorities for the coming years.
Dr Charles Bebay, Regional Head, Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD), Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)
Dr Gregorio Torres, Head of Science, World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH)
Dr Bernadette Abela, Head of Neglected Zoonotic Diseases and Snakebite, Global Program for NTDs, World Health Organization (WHO)

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Join the conversation by using the hashtag #RabiesToday.

Rabies Today is produced by United Against Rabies: working together to  end human deaths from dog-mediated rabies by 2030. 

www.unitedagainstrabies.org