A rabies vaccination for a sheepdog in East Africa

Through the rabies control project in the Kenyan Masai Mara (Serengeti National Park), Veterinarians Without Borders wants to help protect people and animals from rabies infection. Keeping dogs is a common method of protecting livestock, such as goats or chickens, from attacks by predators. There are around 20,000 domestic and sheepdogs in our organization's project area alone. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 55,000 people die of rabies every year, around 95 percent of them in Africa and Asia. Dogs are the most common source of infection for humans: 99 percent of human deaths worldwide are due to the virus being transmitted through bites from rabid domestic and sheepdogs. Children are particularly at risk, as 40 percent of victims of dog bites from animals suspected of having rabies are children under 15 years of age. They are often scratched or bitten by dogs while playing. The fatal thing is that they are usually not aware of the danger of rabies infection and therefore do not draw attention to minor injuries, so that they go unnoticed. But the disease can only be stopped if professional medical treatment is given immediately after the bite. The treatment essentially consists of wound cleaning, disinfection and immunization and costs the equivalent of around US$40 in Africa - costs that are difficult for the average household to afford, considering that the average income there is around US$1.50 per day per person. In order to contain rabies worldwide at low cost, the WHO recommends the preventive vaccination of dogs.