Rabies Today

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

www.unitedagainstrabies.org

In the Americas, canine rabies variants have infected several wildlife species which now maintain independent cycles of transmission. In Namibia, kudu have emerged as unlikely species to be especially vulnerable to rabies transmission within the herd. Join Professor Katie Hampson and her guests in a fascinating conversation about rabies, dogs and wildlife and what that means for efforts to achieve Zero by 30.

With Dr Rauna Athingo, Chief Veterinarian, Animal Disease Control, North-West subdivision, Namibia, Cassie Boutelle, Epidemiologist, Pox Virus and Rabies Branch, US CDC and Professor Jane Megid, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, UNESP, Brazil

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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 and  guests discuss the diverse strategies they employ at local level to tackle rabies. From education to religion and local customs to politics, context is critical.

With Dr Kenneth Chawinga, Senior Inspectorate and Regulatory Officer of Veterinary Public Health, Lusaka, Zambia, Dr Rey del Napoles, Division Chief, Animal Care and Disease Control, Quezon City, The Philippines and Dr Merry Ferdinandes Wain, Director, JAAN Domestic (Jakarta Animal Aid Network), Indonesia.

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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

Dogs and people have lived together for thousands of years. As the main source of rabies infections in humans (over 90%), controlling rabies in dogs is essential to ending human rabies deaths.  

In this episode we’re discussing how different concepts of dog ownership in Asia and Africa affect mass dog vaccination, testing and disease surveillance. We'll be talking about the connection between dog population management and rabies control; and celebrating the news that Gavi, the Vaccines Alliance, has agreed to roll out a long-promised investment in human rabies vaccines - a potential game-changer for countries struggling to end human rabies deaths. 

Host Professor Katie Hampson is joined by Dr Gowri Yale of Mission Rabies, India, Dr Thumbi Mwangi from University of Nairobi and Dr Elly Hiby of ICAM Coalition. Dr Bernadette Abela of WHO also joins to discuss the Gavi Board decision on PEP. 

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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

Only a fraction of human rabies cases are reported to the WHO's Global Health Observatory and the quality of national data on rabies deaths is extremely variable. In Episode 2 in this series, Professor Katie Hampson explores the barriers to effective rabies reporting and what that means for rabies control efforts. Katie's guests are Dr Ryan Wallace of the US Centers for Disease Control, Dr Moses Djimatey, Deputy Director of Public Health in Ghana's NE Region, and Dr Ashwath Narayana, immediate past President of India's Association for Prevention and Control of Rabies.

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You can find us on
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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

We've had life-saving vaccines to prevent rabies from killing people for over 100 years, yet millions of people, mainly in Africa and Asia, still lack access to these essential medicines. Join Professor Katie Hampson and her guests as they hear what happens to many dog bite victims in countries like Burkina Faso, and the potential for investment by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to make a real difference to rabies control around the world.   With Dr Bernadette Abela (WHO), Dr Madi Savadogo (Rabies Free Burkina Faso) and Dr Hervé Bourhy (Institut Pasteur).  

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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