World Rabies Day 2023: Theme, Date, Significance, Celebration

World Rabies Day 2023 is observed on September 28. The observation is global and the aim is to raise awareness of the rabies disease and work together to enhance prevention and control methods worldwide.

Celebration of this special day began in 2007 and it coincides with the death anniversary of Louis Pasteur, a French chemist and microbiologist who invented the first effective vaccine against rabies.

World Rabies Day 2023 Date

Check World Rabies Day in 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026, and 2027:

World Rabies Day 2023 Overview

World Rabies Day Significance

Rabies is a fatal disease that is caused by biting or scratching of a rabid animal. The rabies from wild animals can be prevented by keeping safe distance for them but most cases of rabies arise due to pet dog bites and here is when it becomes a serious issue.

To draw worldwide attention of the people towards the disease, its spread and prevention, World Rabies Da acts as a perfect opportunity. One can prevent getting rabies by keeping their pet cats or dogs updated on their rabies vaccination. When outside (especially oj international travel), rabies can be prevented by maintaining safe distance from unknown animals, as you never know which one can have rabies.

World Rabies Day was created to be a day of awareness, education and action that teaches groups and individuals about the rabies prevention measures. Its objectives are to raise rabies awareness and educate people how to stop and prevent the disease from catching. It also offers an opportunity to reflect on our efforts to control this deadly disease and remind ourselves that the fight is not yet over.

World Rabies Day History

To spread awareness of rabies and its prevention, the first World Rabies Day was observed in 2007 by the Alliance for Rabies Control and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The event was the co-sponsored by World Organization for Animal Health, Pan American Health Organization and World Health Organization.

The day 28 September was chosen to mark the death anniversary of rabies’ vaccine inventor Louis Pasteur. Every year since 2007, September 28 is observed as World Rabies Day.

Who was Louis Pasteur?

Louis Pasteur was a French chemist and microbiologist, who developed the first effective rabies vaccine in collaboration with his colleagues. He created the vaccine by growing the virus in rabbits and then weakening it by drying the nerve tissue that was affected. Pasteur is also known as the father of bacteriology, father of microbiology and is attributed with the founding of modern bacteriology.

Celebration of World Rabies Day 2023

On the occasion of World Rabies Day, many events are held to raise awareness about the impact of rabies on humans & animals and provide information and advice on how to prevent the disease. It is the goal of World Health Organization (WHO) to eliminate human deaths from dog-transmitted rabies by 2030 and they take rabies Day as the perfect opportunity to invite organizations such as United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), etc to support advocacy and invent measures to control rabies.

Other events include symposia on current rabies control methods and public events for raising awareness about good prevention practice. Sponsored walks, runs or bike rides, free or externally subsidized vaccination clinics for dogs are some other activities organized on World Rabies Day (WRD). More than a thousand events are registered from countries every year in celebration of WRD.

World Rabies Day 2023 Theme

The year 2023 will mark the 17th anniversary of World Rabies Day celebration and it will be celebrated with a unique theme. World Rabies Day 2023 theme is “All for 1, One Health for all”.

The theme for World Rabies day 2022 was ‘One Health, Zero Death’ and it highlighted the connection of the environment with both people and animals.

FAQs