Rabies Prevention in Asia: Institutionalizing Implementation Capacities

Abstract

Rabies in Asia and Africa contributes to over 99% of human rabies deaths that occur in the world today. The vast majority or 60% of these deaths are in Asia. Practically, more than four billion people in Asia or about 60% of the world's population are at risk of getting rabies where an estimated 96% of documented human cases are from an infected dog bite. Canine-mediated rabies is one of the few communicable diseases that can possibly be eliminated by currently available vaccines and tools for veterinary and public health interventions. With a more comprehensive and integrated approach, it is expected that dog rabies will be eliminated in target areas, and there will be an eventual decline and disappearance of human rabies cases. The burden of rabies is primarily on human health but the disease control has to be focused on the animal source. The ultimate goal of a truly regional disease program is to control and eliminate dog-mediated rabies and protect and maintain rabies-free areas in Asia. Current regional efforts aim to strengthen the intercountry coordination, and technical and institutional capacities to manage dog rabies elimination programs. The regional and national implementation efforts provide strategic direction and cooperation to ensure successful implementation of rabies control measures and eventual elimination. The focus areas include human rabies prevention through pre-and postexposure prophylaxis, mass dog vaccination, surveillance and epidemiology, laboratory diagnostic capability, public awareness and risk communication, legislation, dog population management, and establishment and protection of rabies-free zones/

Rabies control in South Asia requires a One Health approach

“…Mass Dog Vaccination is considered an appropriate [ 48 ] and cost-effective way of rabies control [ 49 , 50 ]. Several developed Asian countries have successfully eradicated dog mediated rabies via MDV and dog population control [ 12 ].…”

“…Education authorities need to include rabies in school course work focusing on general information on rabies, signs and symptoms, preventive measures, the necessity of dog vaccination, PEP and responsible dog ownership. Rabies awareness and education in youths and school students will disseminate to the entire family ensuring sustainable strategies and intervention in future generations [ 48 ].…”

Rabies in Southeast Asia: a systematic review of its incidence, risk factors and mortality

“…Rabies in Asia and Africa contributes to over 99% of the human rabies deaths that occur in the world today. The vast majority (60%) of these deaths occur in Asia 35. Every year, an estimated 59 000 people die from rabies worldwide, with the majority (95%) of these deaths occurring in Africa and Asia due to a lack of PEP services for animal-bite patients and rabies surveillance personnel and facilities 36.…”

“…The requirement for PEP is considerably reduced when dog rabies is eradicated 59. To benefit from the synergy and maximisation of shared resources, comprehensive rabies control programmes should involve the combination of human, financial and material resources with other disease programmes 35…”

Novel Bat Lyssaviruses Identified by Nationwide Passive Surveillance in Taiwan, 2018–2021

“…Most studies currently indicate that bats are the reservoir host of lyssaviruses, except for Mokola lyssavirus (MOKV) and Ikoma lyssavirus (IKOV) [ 1 , 2 , 15 , 16 ]. In Asia, rabies lyssavirus (RABV) circulates in dogs and many wildlife [ 17 , 18 ]; in comparison, the other five lyssaviruses, Aravan lyssavirus (ARAV) [ 19 ], Khujand lyssavirus (KHUV) [ 19 ], Irkut lyssavirus (IRKV) [ 20 ], Gannoruwa bat lyssavirus (GBLV) [ 7 ], and Taiwan bat lyssavirus (TWBLV) [ 4 ], were merely found in bats. All circulating lyssaviruses in Asia belong to phylogroup I.…”