Context
The WHO has validated Bhutan as the first country in its South-East Asia Region to eliminate dog-transmitted rabies as a public health problem. Bhutan achieved this through mass dog vaccination, population management, surveillance and a One Health approach.
Explanation
- Rabies is a viral zoonotic disease caused by viruses of the genus Lyssavirus and primarily affects the central nervous system.
- It spreads mainly through the saliva of infected animals, usually through bites; domestic dogs cause about 99% of human rabies cases globally.
- Rabies is almost always fatal after clinical symptoms appear, but is preventable through timely treatment.
- WHO’s two-pronged strategy for preventing human rabies is to control the infection at its animal source through mass dog vaccination and to prevent disease after exposure through prompt Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP).
- Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) includes immediate thorough wound washing, a course of rabies vaccine and, when indicated, rabies immunoglobulin.
- The One Health approach coordinates human, animal and environmental health sectors to control zoonotic diseases.
- India’s National Rabies Control Programme (NRCP) guides rabies prevention and control, while the National Action Plan for Dog Mediated Rabies Elimination (NAPRE), 2021 sets the target of zero human deaths from dog-mediated rabies by 2030.
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