Editing Rabies (section)

== Prevention ==
{{See|Dog bite prevention}}

Almost all human exposure to rabies was fatal until a vaccine was developed in 1885 by [[Louis Pasteur]] and [[Émile Roux]]. Their original vaccine was harvested from infected rabbits, from which the virus in the nerve tissue was weakened by allowing it to dry for five to ten days.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Geison GL | title = Pasteur's work on rabies: reexamining the ethical issues | journal = The Hastings Center Report | volume = 8 | issue = 2 | pages = 26–33 | date = April 1978 | pmid = 348641 | doi = 10.2307/3560403 | jstor = 3560403 }}</ref> Similar nerve tissue-derived vaccines are still used in some countries, as they are much cheaper than modern cell culture vaccines.<ref name="pmid15069272">{{cite journal | vauthors = Srivastava AK, Sardana V, Prasad K, Behari M | title = Diagnostic dilemma in flaccid paralysis following anti-rabies vaccine | journal = Neurology India | volume = 52 | issue = 1 | pages = 132–3 | date = March 2004 | pmid = 15069272 | url = http://www.neurologyindia.com/article.asp?issn=0028-3886;year=2004;volume=52;issue=1;spage=132;epage=133;aulast=Srivastava | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090802195908/http://www.neurologyindia.com/article.asp?issn=0028-3886%3Byear%3D2004%3Bvolume%3D52%3Bissue%3D1%3Bspage%3D132%3Bepage%3D133%3Baulast%3DSrivastava | archive-date = 2 August 2009 }}</ref>

The human diploid cell rabies vaccine was started in 1967. Less expensive purified chicken embryo cell vaccine and purified [[vero cell]] rabies vaccine are now available.<ref name="Ly2009" /> A [[recombinant vaccine]] called V-RG has been used in Belgium, France, Germany, and the United States to prevent outbreaks of rabies in undomesticated animals.<ref name="Reece_2006">{{cite journal | vauthors = Reece JF, Chawla SK | title = Control of rabies in Jaipur, India, by the sterilisation and vaccination of neighbourhood dogs | journal = The Veterinary Record | volume = 159 | issue = 12 | pages = 379–83 | date = September 2006 | pmid = 16980523 | doi = 10.1136/vr.159.12.379 | s2cid = 5959305 | url = https://semanticscholar.org/paper/e34f27f501782639d29ed8a0d2e351f2fa3f1d7a }}</ref> Immunization before exposure has been used in both human and nonhuman populations, where, as in many jurisdictions, domesticated animals are required to be vaccinated.<ref>{{cite web |title=Compendium of Animal Rabies Prevention and Control |date=31 December 2007 |access-date=2010-01-03 |publisher=National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians |url=http://www.nasphv.org/Documents/RabiesCompendium.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100712235752/http://www.nasphv.org/Documents/RabiesCompendium.pdf |archive-date=12 July 2010 }}</ref>[[File:Rabiesvaccination.png|thumb|A female child about to receive PEP after being bitten by an animal thought to be rabid]]The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Communicable Disease Surveillance 2007 Annual Report states the following can help reduce the risk of contracting rabies:<ref>{{cite report|date=2007|title=2007 Annual Report|url=http://www.dhss.mo.gov/living/healthcondiseases/communicable/communicabledisease/annual07/Annual07.pdf|publisher=Bureau of Communicable Disease Control and Prevention}}</ref>
* Vaccinating dogs, cats, and ferrets against rabies
* Keeping pets under supervision
* Not handling wild animals or strays
* Contacting an animal control officer upon observing a wild animal or a stray, especially if the animal is acting strangely
* If bitten by an animal, washing the wound with soap and water for 10 to 15 minutes and contacting a healthcare provider to determine if post-exposure prophylaxis is required

28 September is [[World Rabies Day]], which promotes the information, prevention, and elimination of the disease.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.who.int/mediacentre/events/annual/world_rabies_day/en/ |title=World Rabies Day |publisher=World Health Organization (WHO) |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111231020108/http://www.who.int/mediacentre/events/annual/world_rabies_day/en/ |archive-date=31 December 2011 }}</ref>

In Asia and in parts of the Americas and Africa, dogs remain the principal host. Mandatory vaccination of animals is less effective in rural areas. Especially in developing countries, pets may not be privately kept and their destruction may be unacceptable. Oral vaccines can be safely distributed in baits, a practice that has successfully reduced rabies in rural areas of [[Canada]], [[France]], and the [[United States]]. In [[Montreal]], Quebec, Canada, baits are successfully used on raccoons in the Mount-Royal Park area. Vaccination campaigns may be expensive, and cost-benefit analysis suggests baits may be a cost-effective method of control.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Meltzer MI | title = Assessing the costs and benefits of an oral vaccine for raccoon rabies: a possible model | journal = Emerging Infectious Diseases | volume = 2 | issue = 4 | pages = 343–9 | date = October–December 1996 | pmid = 8969251 | pmc = 2639934 | doi = 10.3201/eid0204.960411 }}</ref> In [[Ontario]], a dramatic drop in rabies was recorded when an aerial bait-vaccination campaign was launched.<ref name=Grambo>{{cite book|last=Grambo|first=Rebecca L | name-list-style = vanc |title=The World of the Fox|year=1995|publisher=Greystone Books|location=Vancouver|isbn=978-0-87156-377-4|pages=[https://archive.org/details/worldoffox00gram/page/94 94–5]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/worldoffox00gram/page/94}}</ref>

The number of recorded human deaths from rabies in the United States has dropped from 100 or more annually in the early 20th century to one or two per year due to widespread vaccination of domestic dogs and cats and the development of human vaccines and immunoglobulin treatments. Most deaths now result from bat bites, which may go unnoticed by the victim and hence untreated.<ref name="CDC_Rabies_Epi">{{cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/location/usa/index.html |title=Rabies in the U.S. |publisher=[[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] (CDC) |date=22 April 2011 |access-date=31 December 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111231023841/http://www.cdc.gov/rabies/location/usa/index.html |archive-date=31 December 2011 }}</ref>