World Rabies Day 2024

World Rabies Day aims to raise awareness and advocate for rabies elimination globally, helping to unite all people, organisations, and stakeholders across all sectors in the fight against rabies. It is held each year on the 28 September - the anniversary of the death of Louis Pasteur, the first person to successfully create a vaccine against rabies - to celebrate his extraordinary life and work.

This year's theme is "Breaking Rabies Boundaries". It reflects the need to move beyond the status quo, where rabies elimination remains challenging for many parts of the world, causing suffering and claiming both human and animal lives, and to encourage the global community that they need to work together to break a spectrum of boundaries that are inhibiting progress with the global goal of eliminating rabies in humans by the year 2030 (Zero by 30).

• Further information on this year’s theme, including information on how you can get involved with the World Rabies Day campaign can be found on the Global Alliance for Rabies Control website.

What is Rabies?

Rabies is a vaccine-preventable, zoonotic viral disease that is spread through the saliva or nervous system tissues of an infected mammal to another mammal.

• Rabies is virtually 100% fatal
• Worldwide more than 59,000 people die from rabies every year
• 40% of those bitten by suspect rabid animals are children under 15 years
• Over 95% of these deaths are in Africa and Asia, with the majority occurring from rabid dog bites (although dogs are not the only animal species that can present a risk)
• Effective and safe vaccines exist for both humans and dogs, and if given are highly protective

See the TRAVAX Rabies page for additional information on the disease, and Rabies Post Exposure Guidance.