Rabies

Factsheet

Key Facts

• Rabies is a vaccine-preventable viral disease which occurs in more than 150 countries and territories.
• Dogs are the main source of human rabies deaths, contributing up to 99% of all rabies transmissions to humans.
• Rabies elimination is feasible through vaccination of dogs and prevention of dog bites.
• Infection causes tens of thousands of deaths every year, mostly in Asia and Africa.
• 40% of people bitten by suspect rabid animals are children under 15 years of age.
• Immediate, thorough wound cleansing with soap and water after contact with a suspect rabid animal is crucial and can save lives.
• WHO, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Global Alliance for Rabies Control have set a global target of “zero human rabies deaths by 2030”.

Rabies is an infectious viral disease that is almost always fatal following the onset of clinical symptoms. In up to 99% of cases, domestic dogs are responsible for rabies virus transmission to humans. Yet, rabies can affect both domestic and wild animals. It is spread to people through bites or scratches, usually via saliva.

Rabies is present on all continents, except Antarctica, with over 95% of human deaths occurring in the Asia and Africa regions.

Rabies is one of the neglected tropical diseases that predominantly affects poor and vulnerable populations who live in remote rural locations. Although effective human vaccines and immunoglobulins exist for rabies, they are not readily available or accessible to those in need. Globally, rabies deaths are rarely reported and children between the ages of 5–14 years are frequent victims. Treating a rabies exposure, where the average cost of rabies post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is US$ 40 in Africa and US$ 49 in Asia, can be a catastrophic financial burden on affected families whose average daily income is around US$ 1–2 per person.

Every year, more than 15 million people worldwide receive a post-bite vaccination. This is estimated to prevent hundreds of thousands of rabies deaths annually.

Rabies is a zoonosis (a disease that is transmitted from animals to humans) that is caused by a virus. It is known to be present in more than 150 countries and territories of all continents except Antarctica. About 60 000 people die of rabies every year, mostly in Asia and Africa.

Rabies virus infects domestic and wild animals and is spread to people through close contact with infected animals’ saliva via bites or scratches.

The main route of rabies transmission to humans is the bite of rabid dogs. Nearly half of those bitten by suspect rabid animals are children aged under 15 years.

10 facts on rabies