About World Rabies Day

World Rabies Day was set up in 2007 to raise global awareness about rabies, to provide information on how to prevent the disease in at-risk communities and support advocacy for increased efforts in rabies control. It is held annually on September 28th, with events, media outreach and other initiatives carried out by individuals, professionals, organisations and governments from the local to the international level.

This year, for the first time, Bavarian Nordic is joining the Global Alliance for Rabies Control (GARC) in celebration of the World Rabies Day with a series of internal and external educational activities aimed at raising awareness of the importance of vaccination and collaboration in the eradication of this deadly disease.

As much of the focus on social media for World Rabies Day has historically been on dog rabies, this year we are raising awareness of other animals that carry rabies, especially bats. We have created videos to highlight this risk, and an infographic and video to educate travelers on pre-exposure rabies vaccinations, which are important for people travelling to high risk countries or engaging in high risk activities such as caving.

To educate our >600 employees, Bavarian Nordic has created a Test your Knowledge on Rabies quiz. For every employee who completes this, we will make an additional donation to support GARC.

Join us in raising awareness of the risk of rabies and helping to save lives globally.

About Rabies 

• Rabies is a deadly infection in humans resulting from the transfer of Lyssavirus, most commonly the result of a scratch or penetrating bite from an infected animal

• The incubation period varies between 5 days and several years but is usually between 20 and 60 days

• Lyssavirus travels from the wound site via the peripheral nervous system to attack the central nervous system leading to progressive brain and spinal cord damage due to encephalitis or meningoencephalitis

• Following the onset of clinical symptoms, the infection is nearly always fatal.  

• Each year, rabies causes approximately 59,000 deaths worldwide.

• Despite evidence that control of dog rabies through animal vaccination programs and elimination of stray dogs can reduce the incidence of human rabies, dog rabies remains common in many developing countries and exposure to rabid dogs is still the cause of over 90% of human exposures to rabies and of 99% of human rabies deaths worldwide

• Trends in both human and animal rabies in the US have changed dramatically over the last century and the principal rabies hosts in the US today include bats, raccoons, skunks, and foxes

• In the US today, human fatalities associated with rabies typically occur in people who fail to seek medical assistance, usually because they were unaware of their exposure. This is particularly common with bat bites, which can be smaller than the top of a pencil eraser.

• In the US, every 10 minutes a person starts post-exposure rabies vaccinations after a suspicious animal bite

• Vaccines approved by the FDA and EMA have demonstrated a near 100% rate of effectiveness, even post-exposure

Source: CDC (https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/index.html)

 

About Bavarian Nordic

Bavarian Nordic is a fully integrated biotechnology company focused on the development, manufacture and commercialization of life-saving vaccines. Learn more at www.bavarian-nordic.com and www.loweringtherisk.com.