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Awareness Days · 28 September

World Rabies Day: the disease we know how to stop.

Rabies is almost always fatal once symptoms start, and almost always preventable before. The difference is what you do in the first hours.

Island of Cats · · 4 min read

World Rabies Day falls on 28 September, the day Louis Pasteur died in 1895. Pasteur made the first rabies vaccine. The day was started in 2007 by the Global Alliance for Rabies Control, with the backing of the World Health Organization.

Still a killer

Rabies is a virus that attacks the brain. It spreads through the saliva of an infected animal, usually by a bite or scratch. The World Health Organization’s facts are stark:

  • Its latest estimate is about 44,000 deaths a year, and the real number is likely much higher.
  • Dogs cause up to 99% of human cases.
  • About 40% of the people who die are children under 15.
  • Once symptoms appear, rabies is virtually 100% fatal.

And yet it’s preventable. Vaccinating dogs stops it at the source, and prompt treatment after a bite stops it in people.

After a bite or scratch

If an animal you don’t know bites or scratches you, anywhere rabies is found:

  1. Wash it at once, with soap and running water, for at least 15 minutes. The WHO calls this the most effective first aid there is.
  2. See a doctor the same day, even if it looks small. Tell them what animal it was, and where.
  3. Don’t wait for symptoms. They can take weeks or months to appear, typically two to three, and by then it’s too late.

Any cat bite deserves a doctor anyway. Cat teeth push bacteria deep, and bites often get infected.

A fluffy black cat lying on a stone wall in dry grass, looking at the camera with pale green eyes
Cats can catch rabies too, usually from wild animals. Vaccination protects them.

Cats and rabies

Rabies infects mammals, cats included. Where it’s found, cats usually catch it from wild animals, or from infected dogs. Vaccinating pet cats protects them, and the people around them.

Where we’re based, in Cyprus, there’s no rabies in land animals. But the virus is still found in dogs in some nearby countries, which is why the rules for moving pets matter. Cyprus, like the rest of the EU, requires every cat and dog that comes in to be microchipped and vaccinated against rabies. Never bring in an animal, however sweet, without the paperwork.

What to do on 28 September

  • If you have a pet that travels, check its rabies vaccination is up to date.
  • Teach children never to touch an animal they don’t know, and to tell an adult about any bite.
  • Travelling somewhere rabies is found? Ask your doctor about a vaccine before you go.
  • Support neutering and vaccination of street animals. Healthy, stable colonies are safer for everyone. Read about trap, neuter and return.

Snap the cats on your street. A cat that’s known is a cat that gets checked on.

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