16 Sept 2021
The company is encouraging people to take part in a challenge up to 360 times to help educate and create interest about rabies among vets and pet owners.
Vet Times
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MSD Animal Health is running a rabies elimination awareness campaign to help educate and create new interest in efforts to eliminate canine rabies by 2030.
The #Rabies360Challenge aims to persuade people to do something they like 360 times, or in multiples of 360 – such as walking 360 miles across two weeks, covering the distance over a cycle ride or doing 3,600 steps a day.
MSD is hoping people will take on challenges as part of a team, such as collectively walking up 360 stairs over a period of time, and then sharing their exploits on social media using the hashtag.
The challenge is being promoted ahead of World Rabies Day on 28 September.
Luke Gamble, founder of Mission Rabies, said eliminating the disease – which claims 59,000 human lives a year, 99% of them stemming from a dog bite – was vitally important.
He said: “Protecting our dogs from rabies also means protecting ourselves from this deadly disease.
“On this World Rabies Day, only nine years away from the World Health Organization goal of zero dog-mediated human rabies deaths by 2030, we’re calling on our generation to be the one to eliminate rabies and make this the final rabies generation.”
MSD has been working collaboratively with governments, health organisations and communities on vaccination campaigns and other projects.
Ingrid Deuzeman, global marketing director for companion animal vaccines at MSD Animal Health, said: “Rabies and other zoonotic infectious diseases pose particular threats to global health security, but can be managed or prevented through well-coordinated vaccination efforts.
“With well over three million doses of the Nobivac rabies vaccine donated globally, MSD Animal Health remains committed to collaborating with our public and private global partners to eliminate rabies through the Afya Program, which started as a regional research project by veterinarian Sarah Cleaveland.
“Countless veterinarians, volunteers and dog owners are hard at work every day to prevent rabies – and as we celebrate our 25 years, we must celebrate all these individuals and organisations who have worked with us to save canine and human lives.”
