Implement Anti-rabies Strategy Effectively

The government has come up with a five-year strategy, the National Strategy and Action Plan for Rabies Prevention (2026/27 – 2030/31),  aimed at ending deaths from rabies, a fatal disease caused by the bites of dogs or other animals such as foxes, jackals, wolves, mongooses,  raccoons, skunks or bats. The strategy aims at strengthening rabies surveillance, expanding dog vaccination coverage and boosting access to preventive and post-exposure treatment. The strategy also aims at boosting laboratory tests, conducting mass vaccination campaigns for dogs, implementing the Integrated Bite Case Management (ICBM) for dog bites and scratches and increasing access to anti-rabies vaccination. 

Capacity development, risk communication, community engagement and research are other goals of the strategy. For the implementation of the strategy, the agencies concerned will carry out community programmes by forming various committees envisioned at federal, provincial, district and local levels, indicating that all the tiers of government will be involved in the implementation of the strategy.

Dogs as main culprit

Dogs are the main culprit behind the incidence of rabies. Once clinical symptoms appear, the disease becomes 100 per cent fatal, indicating that there is no cure for the disease after the appearance of symptoms. The disease can, however, be prevented through timely treatment. Rabies has assumed menacing proportions in poor countries like Nepal owing to the poor management of stray dogs. Many developed countries have achieved progress in managing domestic cases although there are still wild cases. There are two cycles of rabies: domestic and sylvatic. The domestic cycle is related to cases due to domestic animals, while the sylvatic cycle involves wild animals. 

Many European countries and North and South American countries have eliminated rabies through compulsory vaccination for dogs and by improving access to post-exposure prophylaxis for victims. Rabies has been extirpated in Western Europe, the USA, Canada, some Latin American countries, Japan and Australia. Many Pacific island countries are free from rabies.