The 12 kb single-stranded negative-sense rabies virus (RABV) genome exhibits unusual genomic plasticity owing to which this virus often dodges immune surveillance and is highly adaptative in new host animals. Attempts to link genome evolution, transmission and prevalence of RABV have been greatly...

Rabies is endemic in humans and animals in the Asia Pacific region. Dog-mediated rabies accounts for more than 95% of the cases in humans. Although tools, strategies and mechanisms are available, rabies continues to be neglected resulting in preventable human and animal deaths. The Regional...

The Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN) launched the ASEAN Rabies Elimination Strategy officially endorsed by the ASEAN Ministers of Health and Agriculture and Forestry in 2014. Because of coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19), global and regional stakeholders realized the urgency of...

The Chiang Mai province is a top tourist spot in Thailand so local governments have adopted an intensive policy to eliminate human rabies deaths. The Chiang Mai Model strengthens rabies control efforts by integrating a Buddhist approach to encourage humane compassion towards animals, rather than...

Nowadays, rabies is mainly present in Africa and Asia, where every year it causes an estimated 59,000 human deaths and costs US$8.6 billion. A key date in the history of rabies control is 6 July 1885, when the first dose of rabies vaccine was successfully inoculated to an exposed individual in...

Proper canine vaccination and the efficacy of vaccines play a major role in controlling rabies in rabies-endemic countries. This chapter focuses on two studies that demonstrated humoral immunity following dog rabies vaccination (RV) of puppies, juveniles and adult dogs. The results of these studies ...

This chapter addresses the issues relevant to the transmission of rabies in free-roaming dogs (FRDs) and its control by using mathematical epidemic models. Compared to well-supervised dogs, there are some additional challenges to controlling rabies in FRDs which arise due to a number of factors,...

Constraints to canine rabies elimination include low political priority, poor implementation of a One Health approach, low accessibility of rabies post-exposure treatment, and often insufficient information on local dog populations. Studies on dog ecology can provide essential insights to guide the ...

Resource-limited clinics and countries often face ethical dilemmas when treating patients exposed to rabies during rabies vaccine and rabies immunoglobulin (RIG) shortages. This chapter discusses an innovative 'pooling strategy' that was developed during shortage crises of life-saving biologicals...

The estimated dog population in Sri Lanka is 2.5 million, and the annual canine vaccination coverage in the country has ranged from 34% to 56%. Rural and suburban areas have a high proportion of free-roaming dogs with unrestricted access to wild animal habitats. Therefore, there is the possibility...