Rabies Elimination in the 21st Century?

Rabies, a viral zoonotic disease, can be spread to humans through bites or scratches from infected wild or domestic animals. Without prompt and proper wound cleansing and immunization, rabies can lead to death in humans – more than 55,000 people worldwide die from this disease every year. Fortunately, rabies is a vaccine-preventable disease. The most cost-effective strategy for preventing rabies in people is by eliminating rabies in dogs through vaccination. However, recent increases in human rabies deaths in parts of Africa, Asia and Latin America suggest that rabies is re-emerging as a serious public health issue.

This session of Grand Rounds addressed traditional and new approaches to disease prevention and control, the importance of evidence–based strategies and interventions for human prophylaxis and animal control, and discussed current opportunities and challenges in eliminating this disease in both developed and developing countries.