![African man holding a puppy for world rabies day](https://www.merck-animal-health.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/56/2022/08/Banner_World-Rabies-Day_V6.png?w=960)
Eliminating Rabies
Merck Animal Health, through their Afya Program, has been donating canine rabies vaccines to their non-profit partners for vaccination campaigns for more than 25
years.
![world doted map, for a world free of rabies](https://www.merck-animal-health.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/56/2022/08/Dot-Map_Grey_Banner_V3.png)
![Silhouette of a man and a dog](https://www.merck-animal-health.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/56/2022/08/Icon_World-Rabies-Day_Dog-Human_V2.png?w=134)
Rabies is one of the deadliest global diseases for both humans and dogs, yet it is preventable.
![99%](https://www.merck-animal-health.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/56/2022/08/Icon_World-Rabies-Day_99_V3png.png?w=182)
With up to 99% of human cases being caused by dog bites, canine mass-vaccination initiatives are the most cost-effective rabies prevention measure.1
![70%](https://www.merck-animal-health.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/56/2022/08/Icon_World-Rabies-Day_70.png?w=182)
In fact, rabies transmission can be eliminated in rabies-endemic areas when at least 70% of dogs are covered through annual mass-vaccination.2
However, in many large areas around the world, rabies continues to be a serious health issue.
Many communities around the world have limited access to resources and vaccines, and often awareness and education about rabies is
low.
![Silhouette of a man and a child](https://www.merck-animal-health.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/56/2022/08/Icon_World-Rabies-Day_Child_V2.png)
Rabies kills an estimated 59,000
people each year, with almost half of them children under 15
years of age.3
![Visual of global economy](https://www.merck-animal-health.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/56/2022/08/Icon_World-Rabies-Day_world.png?w=182)
Globally, the economic burden of dog-mediated rabies is estimated at U.S. $8.6
billion per year.4
Working with our partners, we’re helping to eliminate rabies.
![Merck Animal Health has donated 5 million doses of rabies vaccines to support organizations like Mission Rabies and Rabies Free Africa.](https://www.merck-animal-health.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/56/2022/08/Icon_World-Rabies-Day_donations_V3.png)
![Visual of a vaccine](https://www.merck-animal-health.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/56/2022/08/Icon_World-Rabies-Day_Vaccin.png)
Mission Rabies collaborates with governments and local communities in rabies-endemic areas to run vaccination drives and provide critical education to children about dog bites.
![Visual of research](https://www.merck-animal-health.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/56/2022/08/Icon_World-Rabies-Day_Research.png?w=143)
Rabies Free Africa is advancing critical research into efficient and effective vaccination efforts to be implemented in areas with high rates of rabies.
![Silhouette of three children](https://www.merck-animal-health.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/56/2022/08/Icon_World-Rabies-Day_Group_V2.png?w=173)
Mission Rabies has educated 5
million children about rabies prevention.
![](https://www.merck-animal-health.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/56/2022/08/Banner_World-Rabies-Day_Purple.jpg)
Together, we are one step closer to meeting the United Against Rabies collaboration’s goal of
zero dog-mediated human rabies deaths by 2030.
This World Rabies Day, share the importance of eliminating canine-mediated rabies using #WorldRabiesDay and #EndRabiesNow.
1. The World Health Organization. Rabies. Accessed June 3, 2022. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/rabies
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Rabies Around the World. Accessed September 1, 2022. https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/location/world/index.html
3. The World Health Organization. Rabies. Accessed June 3, 2022. https://www.who.int/health-topics/rabies#tab=tab_1
4. The World Health Organization. Rabies. Accessed June 3, 2022. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/rabies
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All rights reserved.
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