Rabies is a fatal zoonotic disease most often transmitted to people via bites from infected dogs. This course provides a general introduction to rabies, and the One Health approach currently taken to prevent it. It consists of seven video-lectures, demonstration videos, and lessons learnt from people who work at the frontline of rabies elimination programmes around the world. It targets both a general audience and those who would like to learn more about rabies and the pathway to eliminating this disease – like prospective and current public health and animal health practitioners in rabies endemic countries.
By the end of this course, participants should be able to:
Describe the basics of the infection biology and eco-epidemiology of rabies in dogs and humans;
Discuss comparatively the burden of rabies in different parts of the world, highlighting hotspot countries and regions;
Define the main pillars of the Zero by 30 rabies elimination strategy and the role of associated stakeholders;
Illustrate the main strategies to prevent rabies in people and dogs, and the critical role of disease surveillance to support elimination;
Justify the importance of a One Health approach to prevent and control rabies, providing specific examples of public health interventions in different contexts of the world;
Debate the main challenges for rabies elimination and the areas that need to be reinforced, providing specific examples of pragmatic and locally adapted solutions and opportunities for innovation;
Advocate for effective collaborative approaches to control and prevent rabies.
