World Rabies Day is observed on September 28 every year. It is a day dedicated to spreading awareness about this fatal yet overlooked disease. Rabies is a zoonotic disease that affects warm-blooded animals. It spreads through animals like dogs, cats, bats, etc. With the help of World Rabies Day, people are much more aware of the severity of this disease and the victim rate has gone down. September 28 was chosen for this day to honour the death anniversary of Louis Pasteur, a French chemist and microbiologist who invented the first vaccine to cure rabies. Thought the rate of people affected by rabies has gone down, it’s still a global burden. World Rabies Day 2018: The Causes, Symptoms and Treatment of This Viral Disease.

Rabies spreads through the saliva of the infected animal. An area with a lot of stray animals is more prone to rabies. According to Wikipedia, rabies had caused about 17,500 deaths in 2015. World Zoonoses Day 2019: How to Prevent Zoonotic Diseases Like Rabies, Nipah Virus Infection and Leptospirosis.

Date

The traces of rabies have been seen since 2000 BC. Louis Pasteur and his team made the first vaccine to rabies in 1985. He died on September 28 in 1895 and his birthday is celebrated as World Rabies Day. In 2006, World Rabies Day came into existence. Within three years of World Rabies Day being celebrated annually, about 100 million people were more aware of rabies and 3 million more dogs were being vaccinated due to this day.

Theme

The theme for 2019 World Rabies Day is, “Rabies: Vaccinate to Eliminate”. It aims to promote vaccination of all the animals around us. The goal os to keep all pets and strays vaccinated with the help of locals and the government. The main objective is to eliminate rabies completely by 2030.

Rabies can be tough to spot and it requires proper treatment. Children can be an easy target for this fatal disease. Once the patient is affected, treatment is almost impossible. Vaccination is the best way to get rid of this.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 27, 2019 03:00 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).