World Rabies Day

What Is World Rabies Day?

September 28th is "World Rabies Day." It was started by the Global Alliance for Rabies Control (GARC), an international non-profit organization formed in 2006, and since 2007 events and awareness activities have been held around the world on this day. The date marks the anniversary of the death of Louis Pasteur, the French scientist who developed the rabies vaccine. Its aim is to help more people understand the impact of rabies on humans and animals and how it can be prevented.

Pasteur and the Rabies Vaccine

Rabies is transmitted when a person is bitten by an animal (mainly a dog) carrying the rabies virus, which enters the body through its saliva.

• The first vaccination in 1885: In 1885, Pasteur gave his experimental vaccine to a boy who had been bitten by a rabid dog, and succeeded in preventing the disease.
• A founder of modern bacteriology: Pasteur is also known for developing pasteurization, a low-temperature heating method that keeps milk and wine from spoiling. He and Germany's Robert Koch are regarded as the founders of modern bacteriology.

Japan: A Rabies-Free Country

Japan enacted the Rabies Prevention Act in 1950, which promoted the registration and vaccination of dogs. According to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, no rabies has occurred in Japan since the last human case in 1956 and the last animal case, a cat, in 1957. There have, however, been imported cases in which people bitten by dogs abroad developed the disease after returning: one in 1970, two in 2006 and one in 2020.

Fun Facts About Rabies

• Almost always fatal once symptoms appear: There is no effective treatment once the disease develops, and nearly 100% of cases are fatal. That is why prevention matters so much.
• More than 50,000 deaths a year: Mainly in Asia and Africa, rabies still kills more than 50,000 people worldwide every year.
• "Hydrophobia": Patients may develop hydrophobia, in which the sight of water makes the neck muscles spasm, and aerophobia, in which a cold draft does the same.
• Get treated right after a bite: If you are bitten by an animal in a country where rabies occurs, wash the wound thoroughly at once and get vaccinated at a medical facility (post-exposure prophylaxis).
• Vaccinating dogs is the owner's duty: Under Japan's Rabies Prevention Act, dog owners must register their dogs and have them vaccinated against rabies once a year.
• "Zero by 30": The World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners have set the goal of ending human deaths from dog-mediated rabies by 2030.

Ways to Spend World Rabies Day

• If you have a dog, check that it is registered and has had this year's rabies vaccination
• Before a trip or business travel abroad, look up infectious disease information for your destination on official quarantine websites
• When traveling, don't approach or touch dogs or wild animals carelessly
• Read about Pasteur's achievements and the history of vaccines

Reliably Preventing a Preventable Disease

September 28th is a day to learn about rabies, a disease that still takes many lives around the world. Japan has been free of rabies for so long thanks to the steady work of registering and vaccinating dogs. Let today be a chance to rethink how you interact with animals around you and how you prepare when traveling abroad.