More than 55,000 people die from rabies each year. For those of us who live in the United States, that statistic seems unfathomable — rabies isn’t very common in our country. But in other parts of the world, especially Africa and Asia, the deadly and incurable virus remains a huge problem for both humans and animals.

 

World Rabies Day was created in 2007 to raise awareness about the global public health impact of the disease. In honor of this important day, we rounded up some facts that every person, whether a pet owner or not, should know about rabies.

 

Rabies Is preventable

 

Vaccinating your pet is key to preventing rabies and helping keep humans and animals safe. If your cat or dog contracts rabies, he cannot be cured. In most states, dogs and cats are required by law to be vaccinated against the disease and thankfully, legal and educational efforts to prevent rabies have proven successful. Get your pet vaccinated.

 

 

Rabies is horrifying

 

Rabies is a cruel and deadly virus — and our fear of the disease has pervaded our culture throughout history. Rabies could be why many of our horror stories are about being bitten by werewolves, vampires and zombies. Rabies even plays an important role in classic American books such as To Kill a Mockingbird and Old Yeller. As Dr. Marty Becker writes in his review ofRabid: a Cultural History of the World’s Most Diabolical Virus, before vaccination protocols, rabies was so feared that dogs in England and France were killed by mobs or beaten to death.

 

We’re still fighting rabies abroad

 

In 2013, Dr. Carrie La Jeunesse visited Liberia while working for Veterinarians Without Borders U.S. La Jeunesse was working at a vaccination clinic when she was bitten by a dog. Because the dog was not vaccinated against rabies, she needed a postexposure vaccination within 24 hours of the bite. Thankfully, she was able to get the life-saving vaccine in Monrovia, Liberia.

 

By The Punch