11 May 2023
Vet-led project – part of international charity Worldwide Veterinary Service, which has just merged with Dogs Trust – hopes to vaccinate 100,000 dogs in capital Phnom Penh against rabies.
Paul Imrie
Job Title
A group of volunteers who joined Mission Rabies' pilot campaign in Cambodia in 2019.
Vet-led welfare project Mission Rabies is preparing for its biggest challenge yet – to vaccinate 100,000 Cambodian dogs in 10 days.
The project – part of Worldwide Veterinary Service (WVS), which has just merged with Dogs Trust – will carry out Cambodia’s largest ever mass vaccination drive in capital Phnom Penh.
Mission Rabies will work with local government, charity partners, and 100 international volunteers to reach the target and protect an estimated two million people living in the capital from the deadly disease.
Rabies kills around 59,000 people a year and Cambodia has one of the highest death rates per capita of any country.
Dog bites remain the main cause of rabies in people, while mass canine vaccination programmes are the most effective way to control the disease.
Mission Rabies is aiming to vaccinate 70% of the world’s dog population, the level needed to eliminate the disease in dogs and prevent deaths in humans.
Luke Gamble, chief executive of Mission Rabies and WVS, said: “In Cambodia, the reality of rabies is a tragic one. Statistically, children die of canine transmitted rabies every week in Phnom Penh, and annually, approximately 600,000 people in the country are bitten by dogs.
“The lack of awareness about this deadly disease means that many bitten individuals do not receive the post-exposure treatment they need, leaving them with no chance for survival once symptoms appear. This has to stop.
“We know that vaccinating dogs is the key to eliminating rabies, and that’s why we’re undertaking our largest and most ambitious vaccination drive yet – to vaccinate 100,000 dogs in 10 working days.
“We’re grateful to have the support of MSD Animal Health and all those who are backing this project. Together, we’re working towards our shared goal of eliminating human rabies deaths by 2030. Let’s make a difference and protect the lives of both people and dogs in Cambodia.”
Mission Rabies began work in the south-east Asian country in 2019, and has run a pilot vaccination campaign and launched education programmes, including for children, in the capital.
Its surveillance team has provided a 24-hour response to reports of rabid dogs and to ensure anyone bitten is given immediate post-exposure treatment.
The vaccination drive will be delivered in partnership with the General Directorate of Animal Health and Production, Institut Pasteur du Cambodge, and two Cambodian animal welfare organisations: Animal Rescue Cambodia and Phnom Penh Animal Welfare Society.
Updates of the 10-day mission will be available on the Mission Rabies website.
