Bangkok Rabies Expert: Routine Vaccination Prevents Rabies

Bogor, West Java – The Indonesian Veterinary Student Association (IMAKAHI) branch Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) had tried to find a solution for the Rabies outbreak in Bali through a national seminar titled “The Strategy in Overcoming Zoonoses and Foodborne Disease Issues”. The seminar was held at the campus of Bogor Agricultural University in Darmaga on December 21, 2008. A speaker of the seminar was Tri Satya Putri Naipospos, DVM, MPhil, PhD from OIE Regional Coordination Unit, Bangkok, Thailand.

The organizing committee of the event stated the theme was brought forward because there were some very urgent cases that need solution.
Rabies in Bali, until November 24, 2008, has caused four human fatalities, with a total of dog bite victims of 18 people. Therefore the government has declared Bali as a Rabies outbreak area. The statement was made in the Directive of Minister of Agriculture, Anton Apriyantono, on December 1, 2008.
Meanwhile, in the seminar, Naipospos revealed that Rabies in human has ranked number 7 for infectious diseases. But, death from Rabies can be prevented.
Naipospos said that Rabies is caused by a virus, if a rabid animal bites human, the virus will be transmitted and the human will be infected. More that 99 percent of Rabies cases in humans are caused by dog bites. Without special treatment, the mortality rate is 100 percent. Almost half of all fatal cases occurred in children below 15 years old.
In Europe and North America, Rabies in human and animals are no longer an issue because all dogs are required to be routinely vaccinated against rabies. Therefore, virus strains specific to dogs have been eradicated from those countries. Currently, rabies in those areas is only found in wild animals, such as wolfs, foxes, bats, etc.
Even though the 100% mortality rate in human due to Rabies could be prevented, but each year around 50,000 people around the world die because of Rabies. More than 99 percent of Rabies human fatality happens in developing countries in Asia and Africa.
Asian countries that are still Rabies endemic with a slowly increasing tendency are India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Srilanka, Myanmar, Indonesia, and Philippines. So far Indonesia has not been successful in eradicating Rabies because it is considered as low priority by both public health and animal health sides. The main source of Rabies is domestic dogs. Current domestic dogs living among people are not registered, they are not leashed or chained, and only few are vaccinated. Besides that, Indonesia also does not have sufficient information about dog ecology and population size. Indonesia also lacks the resources required to vaccinate enough dogs.
Rabies is prevented in dogs by vaccination. It is a quick and easy procedure. Vaccination of 70% of the population has been proven to be successful in preventing outbreaks in 96.5% of all cases. Meanwhile WHO has a global vision of reducing cases of Rabies in human from dogs. To provide the general public with necessary information on how to eradicate Rabies, the “World Rabies Day” is held on every 28th September.
Rabies can be eradicated through mass vaccination of pet dogs and elimination of wild dogs, Post Exposure Treatment (PET) in human and public awareness campaigns.
”The number of Rabies cases can be reduced though collaboration between the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Health, and the general public,” said Naipospos. /1osy/kp011

Source: kabarpemilu.com