• Perro recibiendo vacuna contra la rabia

Rabies

Rabies is a zoonosis (disease transmitted to humans by animals) caused by a virus that affects domestic and wild animals, and spreads to people through contact with infected saliva through bites or scratches. 

Rabies is present on all continents, except Antarctica, but more than 95% of human deaths are recorded in Asia and Africa.

Once the symptoms appear, the disease is almost always fatal. 

Rabies is an unhealthy disease of poor and vulnerable populations, where deaths are rarely reported. It occurs mainly in isolated rural communities, where no measures are taken to prevent the transmission of the disease from dogs to humans. 

Subnotification of rabies also prevents the mobilization of resources from the international community to eliminate human rabies transmitted by dogs.

PAHO Response

The region of the Americas has the necessary knowledge and tools for the elimination of rabies transmitted by dogs. Coordinated actions for the regional elimination of human rabies transmitted by dogs began in the Americas in 1983, with the technical cooperation of PAHO, responsible for the coordination of the regional program for the elimination of rabies, as well as the operation of the regional epidemiological surveillance system of rabies.

 

REDIPRA 17

Occurrence of human cases of rabies in the Americas in 2023 and 2024*

The work of PANAFTOSA

The Pan American Center for Foot-and-Mouth Disease and Veterinary Public Health (PANAFTOSAPANAFTOSA/VPH-PAHO/WHO), through its Zoonoses technical unit, supports the countries of the Region of the Americas and the Caribbean providing technical-scientific cooperation and supporting them in the development and strengthening of the control and eradication programs of the main zoonoses that impact on human health.

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