Rabies Today podcast by United Against Rabies

Rabies Today is a new podcast series, brought to you by the United Against Rabies Forum, with the support of Dogs Trust Worldwide. Each month, host Professor Katie Hampson looks at a key challenge surrounding rabies control and discuss potential solutions with practitioners and experts from around the world.

Rabies Today is available on the United Against Rabies website as well as on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms. Episode 1 - The Treatment Gap

In Episode 1 we cover the global inequality in access to emergency rabies medicines and the potential for game-changing investment by Gavi, the Vaccines Alliance. Join host Professor Katie Hampson as she explores the potential to improve access to these essential medicines with Dr Bernadette Abela from WHO, Dr Madi Savadogo, Director of Animal Health in Burkina Faso and Dr Hervé Bourhy of Institut Pasteur in Paris.

Episode 2 - Reporting Rabies In this episode, we look at why so few cases of human rabies make it into official data sets, both nationally and globally. We ask what that means for countries trying to combat the disease, and for people at risk. And, as always, we’ll be discussing solutions, including United Against Rabies’ guidance on Minimum Data Elements, available on our website here. Join host Professor Katie Hampson with guests, Dr Ryan Wallace, Rabies lead at US Centers for Disease Control, Dr Moses Djimatey, Deputy Director of Public Health in the NE Region of Ghana and Dr Ashwath Narayana, immediate past President of the Association for Prevention and Control of Rabies in India. Episode 3 - Dogs, Dogs, Dogs! In this episode we’ll be looking at how different forms of dog ownership in Asia and Africa impact on mass dog vaccination, testing and disease surveillance, the connection between dog population management and rabies control, and news that Gavi, the Vaccines Alliance, has agreed to roll out a long-promised investment in rabies PEP - the life-saving vaccines given to people suspected of exposure via rabid dog bite. Join host Professor Katie Hampson, with guests Dr Gowri Yale of Mission Rabies in India, Dr Thumbi Mwangi from the University of Nairobi and Dr Elly Hiby from the ICAM Coalition. We’ll also be speaking to Dr Bernadette Abela from WHO about Gavi’s decision and what it means for communities where PEP is still unavailable or unaffordable.

Episode 4 - Fight Rabies, Go Local Local engagement is essential to successful rabies control. Guests in three different countries discuss strategies they use to engage local governments and communities – from school children to faith leaders, local businesses to public health officials. Join host Professor Katie Hampson, with guests Dr Kenneth Chawinga, Senior Inspectorate and Regulation Officer - Veterinary Public Health, Zambia, Dr Rey del Napoles, Division Chief, Animal Care and Disease Control, Quezon City, Philippines and Dr Merry Ferdinandez Wain, Director of JAAN Domestic, (Jakarta Animal Aid Network) in Indonesia.

SUMMARY - Episode 5 - Rabies, dogs and wildlife

Over 95 per cent of human rabies infections come from rabid dogs. But those rabid dogs also interact with wildlife. In this episode we look at how dog rabies can spill into wildlife populations and affect the communities that live close to them. Guests explain that in the US – where canine rabies is eliminated – rabies from wildlife is now the main threat to humans. In Brazil, rabies from vampire bats perpetuates a secondary risk to humans via pets and livestock. And in Namibia, rabies has had a devastating impact on an antelope species called kudu, with infection between animals perpetuated by their grazing behaviour.

Join host Professor Katie Hampson, with guests Dr Rauna Athingo, Chief Veterinarian, Animal Disease Control, North-West subdivision, Namibia, Cassie Boutelle, Epidemiologist, Pox Virus and Rabies Branch, US CDC, and Professor Jane Megid, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, UNESP, Brazil.