History, evolution and newer perspectives of rabies vaccines

Abstract

Rabies continues to be one of the most deadly infectious diseases known to human race since antiquity, with a case fatality rate almost 100 per cent after the onset of clinical disease. The disease still has a significant impact on human and animal living all over the globe. It is found on all continents where terrestrial animals exist, with the bulk of animal and human cases documented in resource-constrained African and Asian countries, where thousands of human deaths are being recorded annually. The disease produces one of the most agonising deaths in humans and it is likely that the global statistic of roughly 59,000 human rabies fatalities per year is an underestimate. Scientific innovations that led to the successful development of several vaccines and immunisation policies in identified ‘at risk’human and animal populationshave gained a great reputation in minimising the impact of disease across wide portions of the globe.Vaccines continue to be the most significant triumphs of the combined global efforts of the public and animal health communities and has achieved significant strides in the treatment, prevention, and control of disease. This paper describes the history, evolution, and accomplishments of human ingenuity, scientific endeavour, and the joint global efforts of the public and animal health communities that resulted in evolving an effective prevention and control strategies

Keywords

• evolution
• history
• rabies
• vaccination