India, Sept. 29 -- Rabies control efforts must innovate and adapt to protect the life-saving gains of the last century
Before the emergence of the newest animal-borne disease, COVID-19 , the world was in the last mile of eliminating one of the oldest animal-borne diseases - rabies.
For around 4,000 years , humanity has been contending with this infectious disease. Rabies has the highest case fatality rate of any conventional infectious agent at close to 100 per cent. And it is almost always transmitted to people through bites from infected dogs.
A vaccine for dogs was developed as early as 1799 . Widespread vaccination and other preventative measures have since saved an estimated 2.9 million human lives annually.
The canine vaccine is i...