Honourable Vice-Minister of Health, Dr Bounkong Sihavong; Esteemed government officials and international partners; Distinguished guests and colleagues; Ladies and gentlemen:
It is an honour to address you, on behalf of the World Health Organization, to mark World Rabies Day. I am excited to hear that six other provinces would be joining in the celebration today, those being, Champassack, Savannakhet, Bokeo, Xayabouly, Luang Prabang and Vientiane Province.
This year’s campaign theme, “Together against Rabies", is fitting as this event brings together the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and the Ministry of Health, and also supports the ASEAN goal of rabies elimination by 2020.
Rabies is a zoonotic disease caused by a virus that is transmitted to humans from animals. The disease affects domestic and wild animals, and is spread to people through close contact with infectious material, usually saliva, via bites or scratches.
Worldwide, dog bites are the cause of almost all human rabies deaths, with few cases occurring each year from other domestic and wild animals, including bats
Rabies is often viewed as a neglected disease of poor and vulnerable populations whose deaths are rarely reported. It occurs mainly in remote and rural communities where measures to prevent dog-to-human transmission are difficult to implement.
Low awareness of the need to seek health care after a dog bite claims the lives of more than 55 000 people each year, mostly in Asia and Africa. Rabies deaths in human are 100% preventable through prompt and appropriate medical care.
Underreporting of rabies prevents mobilization of resources from the international community to control the disease in animals. As dogs are the source of the vast majority of human rabies deaths, the most cost-effective strategy for preventing rabies in people is by vaccinating dogs.
Rabies is 1 of 5 priority zoonotic diseases under an agreement between the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and the Ministry of Health. As such, suspected rabies cases have to be reported to the National Center for Laboratory and Epidemiology via event-based surveillance.
A national rabies control strategy has been drafted in line with the ASEAN framework. It comprises a human health component, an animal health component, an intersectoral coordination component and guidelines for maintaining rabies-free areas.
Endorsement of the rabies control strategy by the Government is very important for implementation. As always, WHO stands ready to support the Government in eliminating rabies in the country.
Endorsement of the rabies control strategy by the Government is very important for implementation. As always, WHO stands ready to support the Government in eliminating rabies in the country.
Thank you.