«Rabies: One Health, Zero Deaths». 16th World Rabies Day, 28 September 2022

Wednesday 28 September 2022 is the 16th World Rabies Day. This year’s theme “Rabies: One Health, Zero Deaths” highlights the connection between the health of the environment and the ones of both people and animals.

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the strong vulnerabilities of health systems globally, but it has also shown what can be achieved through a stronger interdisciplinary collaboration. Likewise, rabies control and eradication can be pursued more effectively through scientific research and health programs that are integrated and inspired by the One Health approach.

“Zero by 30” is the global strategic plan for the elimination of human rabies deaths mediated by dogs by 2030: an ambitious document, but with achievable goals. More than 150 years after Louis Pasteur’s invention of the rabies vaccine, we have acquired the skills and technologies to break the cycle of one of the world’s oldest fatal diseases. By collaborating and joining forces, stimulating communities (local, national and international), pledging to support dog vaccination and health control programs, the impact of rabies on human health can and must be eliminated.

On the occasion of the 16th World Rabies Day, the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie (IZSVe) organizes the webinar course “Rabies and Lyssavirus. State of the art of surveillance“, aimed at Italian public and private veterinarians, and professionals of the Italian health authorities involved in rabies control programs.