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Today Date : Thursday, March 28, 2024

World Rabies Day today:WHO aims to eliminate Rabies by 2030

World Rabies Day today:WHO aims to eliminate Rabies by 2030

September 28, the death anniversary of Louis Pasteur, who discovered a vaccine for rabies, has been observed as International Rabies Day since 2007 in his memory. Rabies is a viral disease belonging to the Rhabdo virus family. It can attack dogs, cats, horses and bats and thereby to man.  The rabies virus is shed from the saliva of a rabid dog. When the dog bites a human, the germs enter the body, destroy brain tissue and cause rabies. 

The disease can be contracted by a rabid dog biting small amounts and biting into open wounds with its tongue. Symptoms can start anytime from 5 days to 6 years after a rabid dog bite. Fever, vomiting, headache and can't eat are symptoms. 

The affected persons get scared when they see water, which lead to convulsions, respiratory arrest and death. Children between 5-15 years of age are the most affected by rabid dog bites.  These children should be made aware of how to interact with dogs, identify dogs and cats with rabies, and vaccinate them.

Symptoms of Rabies: A person infected with rabies will have high fever, severe headache and nervousness. Tremors are seen in the muscles of the chest and throat. A person suffering from rabies develops an aversion to water called hydrophobia. Stress, distraction, loss of body function and excessive salivation are important symptoms of rabies. The above symptoms appear within the third to eighth week of rabies infection. For some people there is a possibility of change in its periods. 

U. Mohandas, Government Veterinarian of Kontakhai near Madurai says, "Every year 59,000 people die of rabies globally and 20,000 people die in India. The World Health Organization has reported that 5 percent occurs in South Asian countries including India. The World Health Organization has set a goal of eliminating rabies from the world by 2030. Therefore, anti rabies vaccine is must for dogs to protect human beings and animals,” he said.