The Indian state of Goa is making history as the first to be declared a Rabies Controlled Area, thanks to the work of UK-based charity Mission Rabies.
Through a combination of vaccinating around 90,000 dogs every year and improving education about the disease, there have been no reported human deaths from rabies within the region since 2018.
“Now after years of work we are able to say that Goa is the first Rabies Controlled Area, and we hope other states will follow our example to work to achieve this too,” said Marwin Lopes, Deputy Director and Nodal Officer for Rabies Control from Government of Goa.
Since the beginning of their project in 2013, the charity has seen a significant reduction from finding one rabid dog every three days, to one case every other month.
The infection can spread quickly, with over 99 per cent of human cases derived from dog bites or licks over broken skin. It kills tens of thousands of people every year, predominantly in Asia and Africa according to the World Health Organisation.
There are 4.5 million exposures to rabies annually and the disease continues to kill a child every nine minutes. However, the charity is optimistic that the model they have developed for addressing the spread could save up to 60,000 people per year from one of the world’s deadliest diseases.
“We’ve now delivered 540,593 vaccinations against rabies in dogs and educated nearly one million people in dog bite prevention across Goa, as well as set up 24-hour rabies surveillance, involving an emergency hotline, rapid response team, and a support team for dog bite victims,” said Dr Luke Gamble, CEO and founder of Mission Rabies.
“It is fantastic that we’ve now hit the next milestone in terms of controlling the disease in animal populations.”
This strategy for fighting rabies will not only benefit people, but is also helping to end the mistreatment and inhumane culling of dogs by advancing a better understanding of disease amongst the general population.
Volunteers, including vets and veterinary nurses around the world have given their time to progress the project, vaccinating canines in at-risk communities.
Mission Rabies’ work has been supported by Dogs Trust Worldwide, MSD Animal Health and the University of Edinburgh, through funding campaigns, donations and research.
Karen Reed, Director of Dogs Trust Worldwide said the charity is “passionate about improving the lives of dogs around the world and that includes the communities where they live”.
She noted that this success story “clearly shows other states and countries what can be done with commitment and a strategic approach”.
“Dogs Trust Worldwide is very proud to be a part of this achievement; alongside stopping rabies deaths in both humans and dogs, it will also reduce the fear people have of the dogs in their community and lead to better relationships with their community dogs,” she added.
To ensure the continuation of the project’s success and prevent rabies from re-emerging in the population, new precautions are being put into practice.
“Stringent measures, which have never been implemented in India before, will be now put in place to stop rabies re-emerging,” said Dr Murugan Appupillai, director of education at Mission Rabies.
“Government officials will have authority to prevent unvaccinated animals entering the state via road, ship, air, or train, and even question the status of animals within it.”
Rabies vaccines will also be made available to all pet owners and kept both accessible and affordable.
In the context of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, there were also concerns that the efforts to eradicate the deadly disease could be hindered or overlooked.
“The global pandemic has created new challenges for rabies control campaigns around the world, but I am proud to say the team adapted to the new reality on the ground, and continues to do so,” said Dr Andy Gibson, Director of Strategic Research for Mission Rabies.
“The recent pandemic has threatened to perpetuate rabies as a neglected tropical disease, however Goa has shown that mass dog vaccination can still take place safely to protect communities from rabies.”
He added that “this rabies control program is a template of success for other Indian states to follow” and cities elsewhere across the country are “already benefiting from the tools and methods developed in Goa.
“It is clearer than ever that our generation can be the one to consign dog rabies to the history books.”
A similar programme is being run in the Indian city of Ranchi, the state capital of Jharkhand. Elsewhere, their work continues in Malawi, Uganda, Tanzania, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Thailand.
For more information on Mission Rabies and their ongoing projects, visit missionrabies.com.
