Rabies is an incurable viral infectious disease. The rabies virus affects the central nervous system, brain and spinal cord, both in animals and humans. Infected animals can spread the disease through saliva when they bite. The virus can also be transmitted to humans through contact with the brain tissue of slaughtered sick animals. Every year, on September 28, the international community marks Rabies Day, an initiative to accelerate efforts to eliminate this disease, IPN reports.
World Rabies Day 2024 theme is “Breaking Rabies Boundaries”, offering an additional opportunity to emphasize the importance of education and awareness of the need to prevent the disease. The national objective is to achieve “zero deaths from rabies by 2030” by vaccinating domestic animals, prophylactically treating wounds and injuries caused by bites and also by educating children how to interact with animals in the yard.
Rabies causes about 59,000 deaths worldwide per year, about 40% of which are in children under the age of 15. More than29 million people worldwide receive rabies treatment annually, and the global costs are estimated at $8.6 billion. Three cases of human rabies were registered in the Republic of Moldova between 2000 and 2023, the National Public Health Agency said.
If a person was attacked by an animal, they must wash the bite site with soap and water for 10-15 minutes. The wound edges should be treated with solutions of 70% ethyl alcohol or 5% iodine. Also, the bitten person must go to the nearest medical institution to receive curative-prophylactic anti-rabies treatment, if necessary.
The only chance to survive in case of rabies infection is to immediately see a doctor and start receiving curative-prophylactic treatment.
