Gates Foundation and WHO establish dog rabies vaccine bank for South Eastern Africa

At the meeting of the Southern and Eastern African Rabies Group (SEARG) in Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania on 12-14 February 2013, Dr A. Pantelias of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and Dr F.X. Meslin of WHO announced the establishment of a canine rabies vaccine bank in Kwa Zulu Natal (KZN), Republic of South Africa. SEARA Bank (for South Eastern AfricaRAbies Bank) is an extension of the BMGF funded WHO project for human and dog rabies control in developing countries initiated in 2009 which in Africa supports rabies pilot projects in the province of Kwa Zulu Natal, and in the south-western part of Tanzania.

The BMGF/WHO projects are getting closer to entering the sustainability phase which among other objectives aim at catalyzing similar initiatives for the control and elimination of rabies in Africa and Asia within the next decade. Now the BMGF has agreed to provide 250,000 doses of vaccines over 3 years (starting in 2013) and cash to pay for syringes and shipping costs of vaccines to the recipient countries. These vaccines will support rabies control in the original project sites, and also joint activities at the international borders of Kwa Zulu Natal and southern and western Tanzania and to stimulate or strengthen small scale activities within South Eastern African countries. Through this donation these should acquire first-hand experience of mass immunization of dogs and knowledge of the size and accessibility to vaccination of their dog population. These are important steps towards acquiring base line data and experience for developing national programmes for human and dog rabies elimination.

Mr K. Leroux, Coordinator of the KZN rabies control project in Allerton Laboratories, Pietermaritzburg, has offered to provide cold storage space and together with Dr L. Nel, University of Pretoria and President of SEARG, the laboratories will manage the vaccine stocks in close collaboration with WHO.  Vaccine donations will be accompanied by syringes and cold boxes and project staff in Kwa Zulu Natal and Tanzania could upon request provide technical assistance to the recipient countries. The first vaccine doses should be with Allerton Laboratories by the third quarter of 2013.

Major manufacturers of dog rabies vaccines present on the international market have been invited to contribute in cash and kind to the bank. One of them has already made an offer.

South Eastern African countries bordering the BMGF/WHOprojects interested in benefiting from the bank should immediately contact Mr K.Leroux at [email protected] with copy at [email protected] [email protected].