Prime Highlights:
- The topic for World Rabies Day 2025, “Act Now: You, Me, Community,” emphasizes community duty in preventing rabies.
- Rabies is a preventable yet frequently fatal illness that kills a single individual every nine minutes, primarily in resource-limited regions.
Key Facts:
- Rabies is a 100% fatal zoonotic disease once symptoms begin.
- Dog vaccination and early post-exposure prophylaxis are essential in avoiding deaths from human rabies.
- International health organizations are coming together to create awareness and ensure prevention measures.
Background Facts
World Rabies Day, falling annually on 28th September, was initiated by the Global Alliance for Rabies Control (GARC) and endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO). The day marks the anniversary of the passing away of French scientist Louis Pasteur, who developed the world’s first rabies vaccine. Since its inauguration, the day has continued to be an international forum to raise awareness on how to avoid the disease and note progress in controlling this deadly disease.
In 2025, the theme of the campaign, “Act Now: You, Me, Community,” represents a significant shift in strategy for promoting awareness of rabies. For the first time in its 19-year history, the theme does not explicitly mention the word “rabies,” illustrating how popular and well-recognized the disease has become. Instead of increasing awareness of the disease, the focus is on action by individuals, communities, and organizations to avert and eliminate rabies from the world.
Rabies continues to be a public health concern, particularly among vulnerable populations across Africa and Asia. Almost 59,000 people die of rabies every year, and children account for nearly 40% of the total. Though it is totally preventable, deaths due to rabies continue to occur due to inaccessibility to animal as well as human vaccines. Dog vaccination, which is the primary vector of rabies, and immediate post-exposure prophylaxis of those exposed against potential rabid animals are indispensable for not causing fatalities.
The WHO’s “Act Now” campaign triggers action in three arenas. At the individual level (“You”), individuals are encouraged to vaccinate their dog, acquire knowledge regarding rabies prevention, and advocate for rabies control policy. At the professional and leadership level (“Me”), health workers and community leaders are challenged to train others, inspire others to take action, and encourage local immunization schemes. At the community level (“Community”), advocacy campaigns must be mobilized, dog vaccination campaigns must be initiated, and rabies control programs must be intensified. By creating a collective, multi-tiered response, global health organizations are dedicated to eliminating human fatalities caused by dog-mediated rabies by the year 2030. Active participation of all segments of society—individuals, experts, and communities—is essential for success. By collective action and sustained awareness, rabies can be pushed out of the world, saving thousands of lives each year.