Monitor
A step towards eliminating rabies is understanding the true size of the problem.
We know rabies is a bigger problem than the official figures show, but how many more lives are lost to rabies than the ones we know about?
This isn't an academic question. More accurate estimates of the burden of rabies will help us
- bring attention to the disease
- make the best use of vaccines and immunoglobulin for human rabies prevention
- evaluate the impact of disease control measures so we can maximise the impact of our work.
Monitoring rabies deaths in people
One of our key objectives this year is to improve the reporting of rabies incidences. So, we’re working on a survey to determine
- where it is (and where it is not) legally required to report a rabies death
- whether legal requirements to report rabies are being carried out
Next, we need to pressure legislative bodies to change the law and make rabies reporting a requirement. Or, we need to understand why existing requirements are not being fulfilled and bring about the necessary changes.
Monitoring rabies in animals
As part of our Bohol and Adopt a Village projects, local vets were trained in d-RIT (in-field testing for rabies).
These field tests are revolutionary in rabies monitoring. Previously, rabies could only be formally identified in a laboratory test: such facilities just don’t exist in rural Africa and Asia, so it was impossible to be sure of the spread of the disease.
Because d-RIT testing can be carried out in the field, we can now gather accurate figures of rabies deaths in animals, monitor the success of our preventative vaccination programs, and measure the effectiveness of our work. All essential steps to a rabies free world.
We need your help to fund dRIT training of vets to monitor the extent of rabies.
Meet Dr. Nagabhushan
36 yr old, Government Veterinarian doctor working as part of our Adopt a Village Project
"Animal rabies is one of the important diseases in our area. Dogs, cows, calf and goats are the common victims of this disease seen in my day to day practice. There is lack of public awareness on rabies, non availability of proper techniques for rabies diagnosis at field and nonexistent animal welfare activity in our villages.
For me, Adopt a Village: A Rural Rabies Prevention Project has for the first time integrated both the medical and veterinary actions under one umbrella for rabies prevention and control.
I was given hands on training in dRIT (Direct Rapid Immunohistochemical test) for rabies diagnosis at National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore which is a WHO collaborating center for reference & research on rabies.
I am assisting the project team by identifying the rabies suspected animals in the project villages, collecting the brain sample for dRIT and sending it to veterinary college.
I am also involved in livestock census, animal welfare activity, educating the people regarding responsible pet ownership.
I feel the project has given me the opportunity to prevent and control rabies in animals in the project villages which was otherwise not possible."
