World Rabies Day 2023: Date, theme, history, importance, crucial facts

World Rabies Day is marked every year on September 28 intending to bring issues to light in regards to rabies. The day motives towards supporting the continuous efforts towards the prevention and control over rabies globally. 

Rabies is a viral infection that gets transmitted from animals to people and is likewise viewed as a 'zoonotic disease'. Rabies is caused by a virus that has a place with the Lyssavirus genus. Majority of people know that mostly dogs' parents or dog lovers take precautions before interacting with their pets.

As per WHO, "Endemic on several continents, it is estimated that every year around 60,000 people in the world die from Rabies, 40 percent of them children." 

World Rabies Day (WDR) is celebrated annually on 28 September. The day is celebrated to raise awareness about Rabies, including preventive actions.

The World Rabies Day 2023 theme is, "All for 1, One Health for All". It features the requirement to execute an intersectoral and multidisciplinary move with the commitment, intervention and participation of expert groups from the human, animal and environmental health areas, mentioned WHO.

World Rabies Day was founded by the Global Alliance for Rabies Control in 2007 and later promoted by the World Health Organization (WHO). The reason for the day is to feature the progress made in diminishing rabies and to bring issues to light of rabies prevention.

The first rabies vaccine was created by the French scientist and microbiologist Louis Pasteur. His death on 28 September is the justification for why 28 September is marked every year as World Rabies Day. The Global Alliance for Rabies Control picks a theme for World Rabies Day every year. The various themes have been decided to feature various aspects of the disease and strategies to fix it.

    • To make awareness about its infection, its transmission, and related health issues.      

    • To hold awareness campaigns in regards to the Rabies, post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), appropriate injury care, and decrease of deaths caused by the disease.      

    • To urge animal owners to vaccinate their pets against the disease. This will help in great barrier against it.      

    • To feature the extraordinary role of medical professionals in the treatment and anticipation of Rabies. 

Rabies is a viral illness that influences mammals, including people. It is quite often deadly once side effects show up, however it is preventable through vaccination and other control measures.

Rabies is an illness with a fatality rate of 100%.Endemic on a few continents, it is assessed that around 60,000 individuals yearly on the planet die from it, 40% of them youngsters.

Majority of people are the result of dog bites, which makes controlling rabies in the canine population a fundamental part of preventing human cases.