Five years of WRD in Mexico

The Ministry of Health in Mexico is coordinating the fifth annual celebration of this International event with the participation of the 32 State Health Services (SESA). Since 2007, they have celebrated World Rabies Day (WRD) with an academic forum including topics to make the audience remember aspects of the risk factors and preventive measurements for the rabies problems, and also a field activity to emphasize the message.

Each one of the 32 State Health Services has a commitment to conduct WRD celebrations but there is also a national ceremony that is hosted in different states according in accordance with their own request. Reviewed topics were chosen and prioritized, based on the need to share them with the community to develop a prevention culture.

 For WRD in 2007 the topic was the State and National epidemiological status of human and canine rabies as well as the results of control activities conducted: Dog and Cat mass vaccination, medical care of people bitten, active surveillance of rabies and pet sterilization. During the WRDs of 2008 and 2009, the chosen topic was to inform the community on the importance of dog and cat welfare principles, as well as a poster competition for elementary school children. That was the first time that Mexico won the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO)’s Award for the best national event in Latin American and Caribbean countries. For WRD in 2010, the topic was the role of the dog in society and the field activity was conducting mass dog and cat sterilization campaigns (each state conducted 100 surgeries simultaneously); the final report indicated 3,200 surgeries completed in one single day, and that gave Mexico their second PAHO’s Award as the best national event in Latin America and Caribbean region.

For the WRD celebration in 2011 (September 28th), the plan includes a National Ceremony in Guadalajara, Jalisco (located in the Pacific coast, in the North-Western area). Jalisco is in the process of being certificated as a State free of dog rabies transmission. The hosts of the event include the National and State Authorities, and Health Services local staff (Physicians and nurses) and students of Medical Schools will all participate. They have also designed a poster for this celebration (pictured) with the message: “An animal bit you and you suspect rabies?  Ask for medical care in your nearest health clinic. Health Services Personnel will offer you high quality medical care, they will dress your wound, and if it is needed they will give you a medical prescription and PEP. The vaccine is free.”

The 32 State Health Services (SESA) will develop two activities. First, a compulsory local forum with the topic: “Medical and Rabies Prevention care for people exposed to rabies virus”, with the participation of Medical School Students as well as Health Services Personnel in rabies clinics. The topics will be: the relationship between human and animals, origin and evolution of rabies vaccines: benefits and risks, damages when serious lesions occur in people of the comImmunity as well as accessibility to Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP). And second, An optional activity, developing again a minimum of 100 sterilization surgeries in each state.

Contributed by Dr. Fernando Vargas Pino, Underdirector of the Zoonosis Program, CENAPRECE/SALUD/Mexico, MVZ. Verónica Gutiérrez Cedillo, Chief of the Department of Rabies in Reservoir hosts. UDRP/CENAPRECE/SALUD/Mexico and MVZ. Luis Lecuona, Agricultural Specialist in Animal Helath. USDA/APHIS/IS-WS/Mexico who helped with translation.