Observe World Rabies Day Every September 28

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Every September 28 is World Rabies Day, a day with a worthy goal: ending rabies everywhere.

Events on this day help to raise awareness of rabies and the fact that it’s still a problem. The day also promotes prevention activities to lower the number cases of rabies, especially in places where the risk of catching it is high.

The day began in 2007. It’s coordinated by the Global Alliance for Rabies Control (GARC) and is also a United Nations Observance day.

The date, September 28, is the anniversary of the death of Louis Pasteur. It was chosen because he helped develop the first rabies vaccine.

Each year the Day has a theme. For 2019 the theme is Rabies: Vaccinate to Eliminate. This means both people and pets.

In 2018 it was “Rabies: Share the message. Save a life.” This refers to the best way to prevent rabies (and save lives): education & awareness.

In 2015 the Day’s theme was End Rabies Together. That seems like a good sub-theme for every year. Because really, that’s what it will take. Everyone working together to save lives. Human lives. Animal lives. All lives.

 

Why We Need World Rabies Day

Rabies is a lot more common in many parts of the world than you might realize. More than 55,000 people die from it each year. Only 1 or 2 of them are in the US most years. That’s probably why we don’t think much about rabies except to get our pets vaccinated against it.

Even animal cases in the US are relatively low, with around 6,000 cases reported in 2012. On the one hand, that is a lot of animals. On the other, it’s a small percentage of the total animals that are susceptible to the disease.

For the most part our pets don’t get rabies, because we vaccinate them. Many communities even require it in order to own a dog or cat. Of course, enforcement is hard, since it’s fairly easy to hide the fact that you have a pet.

But most responsible pet owners do vaccinate.

So most animals with rabies are wild animals. Common ones that may have and can spread the disease are raccoons, skunks and bats. Foxes and other wild animals can also have it.

Most of these animals don’t have it, but the ones that do may actually be more likely to come up to humans. That increases your risk of getting bit and then getting rabies.

Luckily you can get a vaccination after exposure to stop the virus in your body before you get sick. Even luckier, you no longer need to get painful shots in your stomach. Now they’re more like regular shots, in your arm.

So we do need to continue being aware of rabies, even though it’s not a big problem in the US. Why? Because the reason it’s not a big problem is we vaccinate our pets and leave wildlife alone.

If that were to change, it could easily become a problem.

Learn more about rabies, exposure and treatment here.

Scroll down for some ideas on celebrating this unofficial holiday.

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How to Be a Part of World Rabies Day

If your pets are past due for their rabies vaccination, get that done! At least make an appointment with your vet to go in as soon as possible.

Take part in a World Rabies Day event near you. Search for one on the Global Alliance for Rabies Control website. Not all of them are on September 28, so double-check the dates of any that interest you.

Events range from educational seminars to help people understand rabies to free rabies vaccinations for pets (especially dogs). Many of the events are in high-risk areas, like developing countries, but there are some US events as well.

Can’t find anything near you? Consider organizing an event. GARC offers event resources that include event ideas, a planning guides, and a communications toolkit among other things.

Learn a bit more about rabies in this video from the American Veterinary Medical Association.

 

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