On this day, September 28, 2023, we celebrate World Rabies Day. Today, we also commemorate the passing of Louis Pasteur, the first developer of the rabies vaccine. In 1885, Pasteur and his colleagues successfully saved the life of a 9-year-old child who was bitten by a rabid dog. They injected a total of 14 doses of rabbit spinal cord suspensions, which happened to contain the inactivated rabies virus, into the infected child. This eventually led to the discovery of a very essential vaccine which has saved millions of lives until now.
Since 2007, the World Rabies day has been celebrated with the aim of raising awareness and advocating for the complete eradication of rabies globally. But first, what exactly is rabies and why must it be eradicated?
Rabies is a viral disease that commonly occurs in domestic and wild animals, as well as humans. The disease specifically targets the central nervous system of mammals. Rabies is included in the World Health Organization’s list of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases. It is still endemic in more than 150 countries, especially in Asia and Africa, where the highest numbers of cases are reported annually. Although rabies has an almost 100% fatality rate, it is certainly 100% preventable through vaccination and awareness campaigns.
However, despite the availability of an effective vaccine, rabies is still considered as “neglected zoonosis”, especially in developing countries like the Philippines. By “neglected”, we mean that the disease commonly affects “the poor and marginalized populations with low-resource settings”. Many misconceptions or myths about the disease are still circulating among Filipinos, particularly in rural provinces where quality healthcare is still inaccessible. Instead of getting vaccinated, people tend to consult the ‘albularyos’ or they rely on home remedies like rubbing garlic on the surface of the wounds or squeezing out the blood from the wounds in order to ‘drain out the virus’. Sadly, these existing beliefs prevent individuals to receive the right treatment or immunization against rabies.
In the book “Elements of Journalism”, Bill Kovach and Tom Rosentiel said that the primary role of journalism is “to provide citizens the information they need to be free and self-governing”. True enough, accurate information is vital to how we make decisions. And in the case of a deadly disease like rabies, providing information can save lives too.
I remember the time when we were required to choose our topics for our class in Writing Broadcast News and Current Affairs. I decided to write about rabies for my news story mainly because it is the most convenient for me due to its familiarity. As a former veterinary student, I have encountered it many times in my studies and I even participated in mass rabies vaccination programs.
I thought it would be easy for me to write about that topic, but I had a hard time gathering data and interviewing resource persons. On top of that, I had to strategize the way I will write my story: First, I have to ensure the accuracy of the information I will provide Second, I want my news story to be easily understood; Third, I have to make it compelling.
Truthfully, I did not understand my professor when he advised me to make my stories compelling. During that time, I could not find a clear distinction between compelling and sensationalism. It was also difficult to find the right blend of having the public be concerned to this pressing health issue without causing a scare or panic. Moreover, it was not easy to balance conciseness because I was afraid my terms would turn misleading if I oversimplified them. But three months after passing the course, I suddenly had a retrospection on this particular writing experience and with my character as an aspiring journalist.
Last April, when I was writing my news story about rabies, someone close to my family circle was bit by a rabid dog. Perhaps, it was a coincidence. Honestly, I’m not quite sure; somehow, I sense that it was not a mere coincidence but is actually an unearthing of relevance instead.
Around July this year, I also received news about a woman who died from rabies in our province in Quezon. She was the cousin of my cousin’s wife. According to the news, the victim was bitten by a rabies-infected puppy last April, yet she did not manage to acquire vaccination. She started to exhibit signs and symptoms and was brought to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) but it was already too late for her. The manifestation of signs and symptoms indicates that the virus is already progressive and has spread into the spinal cord and brain. All they could do was to confine and monitor her debilitating condition until she eventually died. Her death became quick the moment she was diagnosed. She died at 48 years old—an age too early to die on.
For her family and friends, her death was an unpleasant and unexpected event; for some, it was an incidental occurrence that made them aware of the disease and the serious repercussions brought by misinformation; or maybe, for the medical community, she now belongs to the number of human rabies cases and deaths filed on the Department of Health’s disease surveillance reports for this year.
I often wondered whether my news story mattered since the number of rabies cases is less alarming than COVID-19 or even dengue. But then again, there is one crucial thing that I learned in the course: I should not solely reduce human lives to statistical data—that behind these relatively few numbers are still human lives lost due to a fatal disease that could be easily prevented through vaccination.
Imagine: if the victims and those around them were equipped with the correct information, then maybe they could do something to prevent deaths from happening. Humans could die because of rabies, but a lack of awareness makes them more susceptible.
I firmly believe we can eradicate the disease through “One Health,” a collaborative approach by multiple sectors. Gone are the days when the burden of public health issues was placed solely on the medical field. Even ordinary citizens like us have the responsibility to fulfill when it comes to epidemics, especially now that we have had a fair share of experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic. Rabies is a public health issue that we should not neglect as well. We have the responsibility to inform and be informed.
REFERENCES
- Boehringer Ingelheim. (2023). 10 things you should know about rabies. Retrieved September 23, 2023, from https://www.boehringer-ingelheim.com/animal-health/animal-health-news/10-things-you-should-know-about-rabies
- Bourhy, H., Dautry-Varsat, A., Hotez, P. J., & Salomon, J. (2010). Rabies, Still Neglected after 125 Years of Vaccination. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 4(11), e839. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000839
- World Rabies Day. (2023, September 25). Global Alliance for Rabies Control. https://rabiesalliance.org/world-rabies-day