World Rabies Day: Boehringer Ingelheim fights rabies misconceptions 

Ingelheim, Germany, September 28, 2021 – Today on World Rabies Day, we commemorate the death of Louis Pasteur who developed the first rabies vaccine, laying the foundations for rabies prevention. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an upsurge of anti-vax and anti-science movements, yet vaccination and awareness can save lives. This is why the Global Alliance for Rabies Control (GARC) has chosen the theme “Rabies: Facts, not Fear” for World Rabies Day 2021¹, a notion Boehringer Ingelheim fully supports through longstanding action. The company, a global leader in animal health, furthers education and the transmission of crucial knowledge about rabies while developing and supplying lifesaving vaccines. 

“Rabies is an extremely dangerous disease, but one we can eliminate through cooperation, especially on awareness and education which are just as important as vaccines,” shares Jean Scheftsik de Szolnok, Member of the Board of Managing Directors with responsibility for Animal Health. “The lives of people and animals are interconnected in deep and complex ways. A disease like rabies, from which we can best protect humans by immunizing animals, is exemplary to highlight that. In order to deliver an effective vaccination campaign, we need a collaborative and transdisciplinary approach among veterinarians, physicians but also environmentalists as well as governments, the private sector, associations and institutions.”

Three key facts about rabies anyone should know

As World Rabies Day, observed annually on September 28, is a pivotal day to draw attention to rabies control, let’s highlight three important facts about the disease subject to popular myths.

1. We can’t afford to underestimate vaccine-preventable diseases like rabies
   Medical advances, better availability of healthcare and vaccination has led to many people not seeing vaccine-preventable diseases as a problem, which can result in vaccine hesitancy and even hostility². In addition to this broader issue, rabies prevention is often underprioritized and underfunded⁵. As a result, 59,000 people still die from rabies every year, even as the disease is 100% preventable through vaccination¹. By keeping firm in our efforts against rabies, the global community can save countless lives - of humans and animals alike.

2. Rabies concerns all of us, including those who live outside of Asia and Africa
   It is true that nowadays, 95 percent of human rabies cases occur in Asia and Africa³. However, the disease can still pose a threat to people and animals living in the Americas, Europe, and Oceania. The reason is that wild animals are reservoirs of the disease even while ongoing vaccination campaigns provide thorough protection for humans and pets. If vaccination efforts let up, there is a risk of the disease being reintroduced. Human rabies cases can be eliminated, but the disease cannot be eradicated⁴.

3. Stray dogs are not the only animals that pose a risk of infection to humans
   Although dogs contribute up to 99 percent of all rabies transmissions to humans⁵, any rabid mammal can cause an infection, including unvaccinated pets and wild animals. That is why vaccinating both pets (even indoor) and wild animals are essential to rabies elimination. According to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), the vaccination of stray and owned dogs should be the first priority. The organization further notes that wildlife vaccination has produced excellent results in certain species and regions⁶. In countries that have successfully achieved herd immunity at a vaccination rate of at least 70 percent of the entire dog population, human rabies cases may still occur, if rarely. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for example report one or two human deaths each year in the U.S. due to travel abroad or exposure to wildlife, with the most common source being bats⁷.

Contributing towards global rabies control

Nigel Swift, Global Head of Veterinary Public Health at Boehringer Ingelheim, relays: “At least 59,000 people die every year due to rabies⁸, and 40 percent people bitten by an animal suspected of carrying rabies are children⁵. The World Health Organization suspects that these dramatic numbers are a gross underestimation⁹. These facts underpin our One Health mission. At Boehringer Ingelheim’s Veterinary Public Health Center, we are proud to partner with health authorities, governments and NGOs in planning mass vaccination campaigns, as well as providing affordable global access to our high-quality vaccines to support effective rabies control.”

Sophie Randoux, Global Head of Pet Vaccine Marketing, adds: “Boehringer Ingelheim supplies more than 100 million doses of rabies vaccines each year, a feat we are very proud of. In addition to supplying governments and international organizations, we serve numerous private veterinary clinics so that pet owners can protect their pets. Beyond vaccines, we supply clinics with a range of educational materials to help veterinarians inform the general public and provide them with lifesaving knowledge. It is very rewarding to be part of the global movement aiming at ending human deaths from rabies. We are committed to continuing our joint efforts to keep people and animals safe from rabies.”

References

¹https://rabiesalliance.org/news/world-rabies-day-2021-theme  
² https://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/blog/who-top-ten-threat-vaccine-hesitancy
³ https://www.afro.who.int/health-topics/rabies#:~:text=Africa%20and%20Asia%20have%20the,been%20broken%20in%20this%20region. 
⁴ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18634470/
⁵ https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/rabies 
⁶ https://www.oie.int/en/disease/rabies/#ui-id-6 
⁷ https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/bats/education/index.html 
⁸ https://www.who.int/news/item/03-05-2021-oral-rabies-vaccine-a-new-strategy-in-the-fight-against-rabies-deaths 
⁹ https://www.who.int/activities/improving-data-on-rabies/rabies-epidemiology-and-burden