Rabies Free Africa
Combining vaccine research with community-based canine vaccination programs, the WSU Paul G. Allen School for Global Health leads in the development and deployment of the vaccination strategies needed to eliminate rabies worldwide.
The Allen School works with international partners to eliminate rabies as a cause of human suffering and death as part of the Zero by 30 initiative, the global strategic plan to end human deaths from dog-mediated rabies by 2030.
Each year more than 60,000 people die from rabies, with more than 99% of the cases contracted from a dog bite. The deaths are mostly in Africa, India, and other parts of Asia, and one-half of the deaths occur in children under the age of 16.
Our scientists are conducting research to:
- Understand the effectiveness of canine rabies vaccines under different storage and distribution conditions, such as temperature
- Develop cost-effective approaches to deliver the vaccine at scale across remote landscapes
Rabies Free Kenya
WSU Global Health-Kenya researchers have helped to implement successful community-based programs designed to eliminate rabies and be replicable across the globe. The team also partnered to develop tools governments can use to estimate resources needed to design and execute canine vaccination campaigns and surveillance systems for human exposure. The program’s next phase concentrates on enhanced education for dog bite victims and collaboration with human health care systems for easier access to post-exposure prophylaxis treatment.
Ultimately, rabies elimination in Africa requires regional cooperation. A rabies-free Kenya is only protected from incursions from neighboring countries when they, too, control for rabies.
– Dr. Thumbi Mwangi, veterinarian and assistant professor of epidemiology
Rabies Free Tanzania
WSU Global Health-Tanzania researchers are working to control rabies through mass dog rabies vaccination campaigns that leverage existing government resources. The focus is to decrease the cost of delivering canine rabies vaccines and find solutions for transporting vaccines to remote areas and resource-poor communities.
The ability to have vaccines stored for extended periods out of cold storage has allowed us to better leverage Tanzanian field officers and one health champions as vaccinators as rabies vaccines can now be stored in rural districts where electricity is not available.”
-Dr. Felix Lankester, veterinarian and assistant professor
Rabies Free Africa news
Rabies Free Africa in the news
- Need to improve access to rabies post-exposure jab People Daily
- Rabies is still a threat, improve access to vaccines NATION Africa
- Zombie run raises money for rabies research The Daily Evergreen
Questions about giving? Contact Christie Cotterill or 206-219-2402.
Join us to ensure no one dies from rabies. A gift of any amount to Rabies Free Africa will move us closer to a world where no one dies from rabies. If you are a veterinary clinic, consider a $1 donation for each rabies vaccine you give your animal patients. For more information about how to be a supporting clinic, contact Christie Cotterill or 206-219-2402.