WASHINGTON – The Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) says that cases of rabies in Latin America and the Caribbean has been largely restricted to four countries.
PAHO said that fewer than 1 000 dogs contracted rabies, and 19 people died from the disease in the region last year.
It said 90 per cent of the cases in dogs and 100 per cent of the human cases were reported in Bolivia, Guatemala, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
“No one should die from a disease that is 100 per cent preventable by a vaccine,” said Ottorino Cosivi, director of PAHO’s Pan American Foot-and-Mouth Disease Centre in Brazil, ahead of World Rabies Day on Friday.
“Eliminating all human deaths from dog-transmitted rabies by 2030 is an achievable goal for our region,” he added.
Rabies cases in dogs and humans have declined 95 per cent in the region since 1983. (CMC)
