Rabies is one of the deadliest diseases on the planet. Once clinical signs appear, the disease is almost always fatal. Every year, rabies kills more than 60,000 people, mostly in Africa, India and other parts of Asia. More than 99% of the cases are contracted from a dog bite.

Since the disease is preventable in Africa and Asia when 70% of dogs are vaccinated regularly, to reach the goal of eliminating human death from canine rabies, the global focus needs to be on decreasing the cost of vaccinating dogs and increasing access.

The WSU Paul G. Allen School for Global Health is working with international partners to eliminate rabies as a cause of human suffering and death by 2030 as part of the “Zero by 30” campaign launched by the World Health Organization, World Organization for Animal Health, and the Food and Agriculture Organization.

The WSU rabies vaccination programs, currently in Kenya and Tanzania, focus on scientific research and in-country program development to enable more communities to be reached with vaccination campaigns in the most cost-effective manner.

The Desert Vet is proud to have helped sponsor the WSU Zero by 30 campaign to provide rabies vaccines in Africa and help end human death from canine rabies.