- The National Rabies Vaccination Program is in the process of being updated.
- During the last year, 22 deaths from rabies have been recorded in the region of the Americas.
- Every September 28, World Rabies Day is commemorated.
Many times the news related to health in our country is not favorable, but you should also applaud when something is done well. In this case, Mexico achieved historical recognition because it became the first country to receive validation by the World Health Organization (WHO) for the elimination of human rabies transmitted by dogs.
An example of Mexico for the rest of the world
This information was released by the director general of the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention Programs (Cenaprece), Ruy López Ridaura. Leading the ceremony on the occasion of World Rabies Day 2022 “One health, zero deaths”, he added that the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) agreed at its annual assembly to replicate this measure in other nations of the region.
The official announced that the National Rabies Vaccination Program to broaden its scope and include coordinated actions for the control of rabies in wildlife and domestic animals. Likewise, he stressed that it is necessary to intensify canine and feline rabies vaccination to recover and maintain coverage, as well as strengthen the days of sterilization of dogs and cats.
He also said that Cenaprece, the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat), IMSS-Well-being and the National Service for Agrifood Health, Safety and Quality (Senasica), began the preparation of a document that will allow the WHO to verify the Elimination in Mexico of canine rabies due to the V1-dog variant.
Current panorama in the rest of the Americas
When presenting the regional status of rabies and the plan towards elimination to achieve zero deaths from this diseasethe member of the Pan American Foot-and-Mouth Disease Center of PAHO/WHO (Panaftosa-PAHO/WHO) Marco Antonio Natal Vigilato, pointed out that the commemoration is an opportunity to remember that the fight against this disease must be permanent.
He disclosed that, from August 2021 to August 2022, there have been 22 deaths of people due to rabies in the Americas region. Of that figure, nine were for dogs and 13 for other domestic and wild animals.
The representative of Panaftosa-PAHO/WHO pointed to Mexico as an example for the validation of the elimination of rabies transmission by dogs. He added that they work with other nations to reach that goal.
He mentioned some actions carried out by the countries to prevent the disease, such as pre-exposure prophylaxis in people living in risk areas, mainly with wild animals, and the use of technologies such as electronic applications to monitor immunization in real time.
Among the regional strategies for the elimination of rabies by domestic animals, he mentioned the implementation of massive annual canine immunization campaigns and vaccination coverage greater than 80 percent, effective care of exposed people with the availability of immunobiologicals, in addition to strengthening surveillance and diagnostic ability.
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