Newsletter Issue 55
November, 2017
GARC News Articles
Editorial: Uniting global strategies and regional activities to support rabies control
The new United Against Rabies collaboration by global health leaders and the new international guidance for rabies prevention and treatment from WHO will have little impact without the efforts of those boots-on-the-ground, everyday people who are leading local and regional rabies control efforts.
Press release: Towards a rabies-free world as unparalleled global initiative gets underway
World Rabies Day 2017 marks the announcement of the biggest global anti-rabies initiative as the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and GARC reveal an ambitious plan to end human deaths from dog-transmitted rabies by 2030.
Ilocos Norte awarded as top-performing LGU in rabies elimination
In recognition for their continuous rabies elimination efforts, the province of Ilocos Norte was awarded as one of the top-performing local government units (LGU) during the 2017 National Rabies Summit. They were presented with the award as part of the World Rabies Day celebration in the Philippines on September 28.
World Rabies Day events raise global awareness of rabies prevention efforts
To support its goal of “Rabies: Zero by 30”, GARC called on governments, organisations and individuals to hold events for World Rabies Day 2017; This resulted in 229 events being held in 56 countries.
World Rabies Day MSD Awards
Recognition for unsung rabies heroes
Towards freedom from canine-mediated rabies in Zanzibar: Island-wide strategic dog vaccination
Zanzibar has been taking large strides towards controlling and eliminating rabies using mass dog vaccination. In fact, Zanzibar is very close to being declared the first region in Africa to be free from rabies.
World Rabies Day social media campaigns captured a global audience
On World Rabies Day, GARC reached 70,000 people through Facebook and Twitter, and throughout the month of September alone, over 150,000 people viewed our social media content.
Starting them young: GARC and Knowledge Channel partner for rabies education
Knowledge Channel Foundation, Inc. (KCFI) and GARC have teamed up in the Philippines to develop educational videos, e-learning modules, and teaching guides as part of their ongoing work to educate children about rabies.
GARC by the numbers
GARC's annual report for 2016 presents key statistics to give you a snapshot of the breadth of activities that we were involved in over the year.
New features and expert opinions for The Rabies Epidemiological Bulletin to expand the tool’s reporting capacity
Terence Scott, a GARC team member, recently attended the DHIS2 Experts Academy held in Oslo, Norway from 14-18 August 2017 to present a poster on the unique use of the DHIS2 system for rabies surveillance.
Open science helping to eradicate rabies by 2030
A Frontiers research topic on the control and elimination of dog-mediated human rabies provides a vital overview of the challenges but also the opportunities to eradicate this deadly disease by 2030.
Community News Resources
Zimbabwe animal welfare agency vaccinated over 6,000 dogs in 2017
Zimbabwe’s animal welfare agency, VAWS, has conducted a number of rabies vaccination campaigns in 2017 throughout the country, immunizing and sterilizing over 6,000 dogs, in addition to their education, outreach and training programs to promote animal welfare.
WHO work group on rabies vaccines and rabies immunoglobulins forms new recommendations
An expert review of the effectiveness of pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP and PEP) was recently approved by the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) committee at WHO. Amongst other recommendations is the adoption of a new, three-visit intradermal regimen for rabies PEP that will allow for a shorter and more cost-effective schedule of vaccinations.
Recent Research November 2017
A round-up of recent publications relevant to GARC’s core mission