Rabies in endemic in Grenada and poses a zoonotic threat to the Public Health system on the beautiful Caribbean Island of Grenada. Unlike the United States, Grenada is a tiny island with unique opportunities and challenges. The natural reservoir for rabies in Grenada is the mongoose. The students at the School of Veterinary Medicine at St. George's University in Grenada, West Indies organized and successfully staged a wide range of activities geared towards raising public awareness on rabies, raising funds for rabies vaccination programs as well as actively vaccinating dogs, cats, sheep, goats, horses and cattle against rabies. Many of our students clubs raised funds through innovative activities and donated those funds toward purchasing rabies vaccines for future SVM vaccination clinics or donating to the Grenada SPCA for the purchase of rabies vaccines. In keeping with our initiatives on One Health, One Medicine our veterinary students joined with medical students to host a highly successful One Health One Medicine Clinic in Grand Anse, St. George. The highlight of this year’s rabies awareness programs however was our inaugural Gala for Rabies Awareness. The Gala was staged on November 2, 2013 at the exquisite Aquarium Restaurant which is located on the World Famous Grand Anse Beach. Faculty, students of the School of Veterinary Medicine as well as officials from the Government of Grenada attended this event. Our key note speakers on the night were Dr Diana Stone, Dr Ulrike Zieger and Dr Bowen Louison. Though their presentations were brief they were able to demonstrate the threat of endemic mongoose rabies in Grenada through statistics derived from research conducted by faculty and students at St George's University. This event sparked great interest amongst students, faculty and the general public. Many students who did not express any previous interest in assisting in fighting rabies in Grenada came on board that night. Officials from the Government of Grenada have since contacted the School to thank the students for organizing this important event and are requesting that we repeat this event next fall as part of our 2014 World Rabies Day Educational initiatives. The Dean, faculty, staff and students are committed to assisting in eradicating rabies in Grenada. While our efforts will continue throughout the year, we were delighted to participate in the Merial World Rabies Symposium. 256 students participated in at least one of our events during the window for the symposium. This represents over 200% increase in participation compared to last year.
473-444-4175