World Rabies Day

World Rabies Day is an international campaign coordinated by the Global Alliance for Rabies Control, a non-profit organization with headquarters in the United States and the United Kingdom. It is a United Nations Observance and has been endorsed by international human and veterinary health organizations such as the World Health Organization, the Pan American Health Organization, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Veterinary Association., and the American Veterinary Medical Association. World Rabies Day takes place each year on September 28, the anniversary of the death of Louis Pasteur who, with the collaboration of his colleagues, developed the first efficacious rabies vaccine.

World Rabies Day is an excellent time to take steps that can help prevent and control rabies, such as vaccinating pets including dogs and cats and providing education on how to avoid the animals that typically transmit rabies: raccoons, bats, skunks, and foxes.

First co-sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, USA (CDC) and the Alliance for Rabies Control (ARC) in 2007, World Rabies Day has been celebrated in countries throughout the world, including the U.S.

Source: cdc.gov | rabiesalliance.org