World Rabies Day 2016
Rwanda recently conducted the first credible trial, after the government gave the go-ahead to deliver rabies vaccines and blood supplies by drones to remote health clinics.
Human rabies: better coordination and emerging technology to improve access to vaccines
28 September 2016 | Geneva −− The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that up to 99% of human rabies cases are transmitted by the bite of infected dogs and that the infection causes tens of thousands of deaths every year, mostly in Africa and Asia.
Four out of every 10 deaths from rabies are in children aged under 15 years.
Although immediate wound cleansing with soap and water after contact with a suspected rabid animal can be life-saving, it is crucial also that people living in at-risk and endemic areas access prompt wound management and vaccines.
The magnitude of the problem and the cost of providing care after a dog-bite are immense: every year, more than 15 million people worldwide receive a post-bite vaccination (post-exposure prophylaxis, PEP).
“Vaccines prevent hundreds of thousands of human rabies deaths every year” said Dr Bernadette Abela-Ridder, Team Leader of the zoonotic Neglected Tropical Diseases unit, WHO Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases. “ There are many instances, however, where people are unable to access these vaccines or immunoglobulins on time. The factors are many. One is the out-of pocket expense needed to reach health facilities: in areas where most rabies transmission occurs health facilities are remote and the health infrastructure is lacking or absent.”
To catalyse rabies elimination efforts, WHO in collaboration with the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) have begun to stockpile dog and human rabies vaccines and provide a buffer stock.
“WHO is working with partners and other agencies to ensure a sustained supply of human and dog vaccines and also rabies immunoglobulins” said Dr Abela-Ridder. “We are closely following what benefits new and convergent technologies can bring, in particular thermostable rabies vaccines or vaccines administered via microscopic needles on a patch. We are also reviewing innovative ways to deliver vaccines through civilian drones, which could become a game-changer in transporting supplies to remote, difficult to access areas and regions.”
Drones can deliver many other health interventions. Post-exposure treatments for rabies and snakebites are especially important, as most deaths from these conditions occur in rural areas.
Some international companies are essaying this new method of delivery for different consumer products. Rwanda recently conducted the first credible trial, after the government gave the go-ahead to deliver rabies vaccines and blood supplies by drones to remote health clinics. The project – a private sector initiative – is a technological marvel: the drones can be programmed to fly out and return after delivering their supplies to a predetermined location.
Used correctly and responsibly, emerging technology can offer unprecedented opportunities to support disease control programmes in remote rural areas.
Vayu's Drones Deliver Healthcare in Rural Madagascar
Related publications
Human and dog rabies vaccines and immunoglobulins
Rabies vaccine stockpile: fixing the supply chain
Human rabies vaccine is not included in the routine vaccines covered by the expanded programme on immunization. Many countries therefore have difficulty...
Fact sheets
Campaign materials
