The 2011 WRD Latin America and Caribbean Awards

For the fourth year running, the Global Alliance for Rabies Control, in partnership with the Pan-American Health Orginization (PAHO), has provided awards for the most outstanding World Rabies Day (WRD) initiatives in Latin America and the Caribbean. This year, certificates were offered in different categories, to recognise the efforts of smaller groups and volunteers and to recognise the more strategic and sustainable developments surrounding the WRD events themselves. Certificates were awarded to winners in six categories:

Most Innovative Educational Initiative: Municipal Health Authorities, Itajaí, Brazil.
The town of Itajaí in Brazil is free of urban rabies, and their WRD event illustrated the importance of maintaining awareness and vigilance against the disease. The municipal health authorities used a model bat cave (pictured) to illustrate to schoolchildren and the general public the ongoing danger of bat bites and how they should be treated. Technicians at the Zoonoses Control Centre were involved in media broadcasts on TV and radio, explaining how to prevent rabies and drawing attention to the need for people to vaccinate their animals.

Most Strategic Educational Initiative: Trinidad & Tobago: Regional Rabies
Awareness Seminar for Farmers and Rabies Public Outreach Events.
This category was won by a comprehensive partnership programme of educational events in Trinidad and Tobago. The programme targeted livestock farmers, butchers, veterinarians, schoolchildren and members of the public in areas particularly vulnerable to vampire bat bites. It was an exceptional partnership initiative, involving the local Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, Anti-Rabies Unit, and veterinary, livestock and public health officers. The initiative also conducted a KAP survey of farmers who attended seminars, as well as collecting information on farms and the incidence of bat bites. The information will be used to modify educational materials, target gaps in farmers' knowledge and plan future interventions.

Most Effective Media Campaign: UMAE, Mexico: Rabies Prevention Poster for Cavers.
UMAE, the Mexican Cavers' Association, won this section for their innovative use of media and for targeting a group at particular risk of exposure to bat bites. Their poster highlighted the importance of bats for the environment, explaining that cavers should not touch them, and detailing what to do if anyone is bitten. The poster was distributed by email throughout Mexico and the whole of Latin America, to 2142 cavers, 1457 virologists, 52 rabies specialists and veterinary technicians at the Mexican Federation of Veterinary Technicians.

Most Effective Event by a Non-Profit Organisation or Informal Local Group: SAPUVET, Perú.
To mark WRD 2011, students and teachers at SAPUVET (Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cayetano Heredia University) organised a comprehensive and detailed programme of research, education and vaccination. The group helped arrange vaccination campaigns through a health centre, and supported a local municipality's campaign for responsible pet ownership. They also developed a research project on the hospitalisation costs of dog bite accidents at the National Children's Health Institute in Lima, and published an article in a public health journal.

Most Effective Partnership Event: Hospital de Vitarte, Lima, Perú: Canine Rabies Prevention Festival
The Vitarte Hospital in Lima, Peru, organised a Festival Canino on WRD. The initiative was a successful collaboration between the health and education sectors, local government and the private sector. Primary and secondary school students were given important rabies prevention information, and the festival was heavily publicised in the press. On 28th September, a parade through the streets of the district (pictured) was followed by a competition to find the healthiest pet and a session of vaccination and deparasitisation for all participating
animals.

Most Effective Vaccination Campaign: Universidad de Santo Tomás, Araucanía, Chile: "By vaccinating my pet, I'm protecting my family".
Chile is offically free of canine rabies, but bats remain the principle source of risk. For the third year running, the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Santo Tomás Temuco in the Araucanía region joined the regional Ministry of Health in a large-scale rabies education and vaccination campaign. In 2011, they increased the percentage of cover in the campaign from 44% to 66% of the municipalities. They administered 2,000-3,000 free doses of vaccine to dogs and cats in the region, concentrating on families with the least resources, and rural areas where pets are at greater risk of contact with bats. These families would not have been able to afford to vaccinate their pets if they had had to pay for it themselves. The campaign hopes to extend its coverage of pet vaccination in future to 100% of the municipalities in the region.

The judges commented on the exceptional standard of all the entries, and would like to thank entrants for their efforts and for sending in their information and photographs.

Contributed by Jane Coutts of GARC on behalf of the WRD team.