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Nearly 59,000 people die from rabies each year worldwide, according to the Royal Canine Society of Spain (RSCE), which calls for mandatory vaccination for dogs across the country, as part of the celebration of International Rabies Day on 28th. September.
According to the RSCE, in Spain the rabies vaccine is mandatory for dogs in all autonomous communities, with the exception of Galicia, the Basque Country and Catalonia, while Asturias recently announced that it will be mandatory for all dogs, and not just for potentially dangerous ones. , to take the dose against this condition, according to a statement.
In Spain, it is the autonomous communities that implement the vaccination strategy against rabies, therefore, the RSCE supports the extension of the mandatory vaccination to dogs throughout the territory, following the recommendation of the veterinary control established by the “One Health” strategy recognized by the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), consisting of 167 countries.
“One Health” proposes for the control of diseases such as rabies – which can be prevented -, to carry out effective veterinary control and vaccination campaigns in the places where they are implemented, a practice “very effective, and with very rare vaccination failures,” according to the RSCE.
They stress that vaccination is the only way to achieve the eradication of the virus and respect the elimination of rabies in 2030, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations Agenda.
The president of the RSCE, José Miguel Doval, stresses that “the ideal would be a mandatory vaccination campaign for all dogs throughout Spain, in line with the ‘One Health’ strategy and the SDGs”.
Doval recalls that it is important to recognize the “interdependence” between animal health, human health and the environment, and for this it is necessary to implement “the best possible veterinary control”.
They point out from the entity that anger has been eliminated in Western Europe, North America, Japan, South Korea and some regions of Latin America, but is still present in large areas of Africa and Asia.
Most of the deaths (over 80%) occur in rural areas, according to the RSCE, which stresses the need to carry out awareness campaigns outside the cities and points out that 40% of the deceased are children.
The vaccine can be administered from the three months of age of the animal and it is recommended to repeat the vaccination one year after the first immunization and, thereafter, the protocol will depend on the duration of immunity of the vaccine used, according to the RSCE.
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