Research

100 per cent preventable B. Abela-Ridder Rabies is 100 per cent preventable by vaccination in animals and people, and yet it remains an under-reported and neglected zoonosis, which is endemic in many of the world’s poorest and underserved communities. Dog-to-human transmission accounts for 99 per cent of human rabies cases and can be eliminated at source by mass canine rabies vaccination campaigns. eliminating rabies from dog populations significantly reduces human exposure to the disease and is the single most cost-effective intervention to control and eliminate canine rabies (WHO 2013). Despite many success stories in Latin america (Vigilato and others 2013) and other countries, endemic rabies in africa and parts of asia remains largely uncontrolled (WHO 2015). Proof-of-concept programmes on the elimination of rabies have shown that simplifying and streamlining canine rabies vaccination campaigns will ensure successful implementation and high coverage (WHO 2014). Research shows that approximately 70 per cent of the canine population should be vaccinated to effectively break the rabies transmission cycle (Coleman and Dye 1996, Cleaveland and others 2003). a more pragmatic approach when resources are limited, is to adopt a compartmentalisation system, which means vaccinating in areas with a high incidence of rabies, referred to as corridors or source areas, to limit the spread of disease and break the transmission cycle (Haydon and others 2006). This strategic approach is often more attractive to governments that have many competing priorities. Considering that the average lifespan of dogs in endemic rabies zones is three years or less (Davlin and Vonville 2012), it follows that a single three-year vaccination is sufficient to provide rabies prophylaxis for the lifetime of that animal. Traditionally, dogs under three months of age have not been included in mass rabies vaccination campaigns due to the potential interference of maternal antibodies with seroconversion (Da