♦ 10 November 2015 ♦ [Relayed from FAO website – 10 November] FAO and GARC have agreed to collaborate on the following: encourage the development and implementation of national and regional rabies control and elimination strategies; promote national rabies surveillance systems, including transparency/notification, and rabies control or elimination strategies in line with international standards; advocate for more involvement of national and local authorities in rabies control, in particular Ministries of Agriculture and veterinary services; promote World Rabies Day activities through their respective networks, including communication strategies related to it. (…Read more)  

♦ 10-11 December 2015 ♦ [Relayed from OIE & WHO websites] A new framework to eliminate human rabies and save tens of thousands of lives each year has been launched by WHO, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Global Alliance for the Control of Rabies (GARC). The framework calls for 3 key actions - making human vaccines and antibodies affordable, ensuring people who get bitten receive prompt treatment, and mass dog vaccinations to tackle the disease at its source. Read more on the official meeting website, and the press releases on: WHO website, OIE website, and FAO website.  

♦ 04 January 2016 ♦ [Relayed from the GARC website] Many of us invest time and resources in vaccinating dogs against rabies. We know this will not only protect dogs but also the people they live amongst. There are many examples of studies reporting vaccination of dogs to be a highly effective method of protecting public health, but do you have evidence from your own work? Many of us also invest in managing the dog population in other ways, such as limiting reproduction or persuading and supporting owners to provide greater care and oversight to their dogs. But how do you know if these activities are impacting dogs and their communities in the way you hoped? In short; how do we know our hard work is making a difference? (… See the guide)  

♦ 04 January 2016 ♦ As every year, the EURL for rabies will organize a rabies diagnostic inter-laboratory test in 2016. This year, the test will be performed on a unique panel of 10 samples using at least one of the following techniques: FAT (Fluorescent Antibody Test), RTCIT (Rabies Tissue Culture Infection Test), Conventional RT-PCR and/or Real-Time RT-PCR. The test is composed of the panel to be tested with the chosen technique(s) as well as a corresponding online technical questionnaire for each tested technique. Registration is opened until 15 January 2016. Should you wish to register for the 2016 test, please contact the EURL for rabies for more information.  

♦ 04 January 2016 ♦ The workshop for rabies 2016, initially forecasted for 20-21 April, has been postponed to 16 June. This year, contrary to the last times, the meeting will be held over one single day. The meeting place will be in Strasbourg town-centre, France. The agenda will include a discussion on the results of the inter-laboratory tests of rabies diagnosis organised by the EURL in 2015, some key points of the rabies laboratory activities, and an overview of the significant rabies events that occurred in 2015. Should you wish to attend this meeting, please contahttps://sites.anses.fr/en/minisite/rabies/contactct the EURL for rabies for more information.  

  Human cases of listeriosis and campylobacteriosis rose once again in 2014, continuing an upward trend that began in 2008. Salmonellosis cases increased slightly for the first time since 2008. These are the main findings of the latest annual report by EFSA and ECDC on zoonoses and foodborne outbreaks in the European Union. Source EFSA

May it bring peace, love and brotherhood !

May it bring peace, love and brotherhood !

♦ 06 November 2015 ♦ [Relayed from the GARC website] A new campaign is calling for an end to human deaths from dog-transmitted rabies by 2030. The End Rabies Now campaign urges the international community to step up efforts to eliminate human deaths due to canine-mediated rabies around the world in just 15 years’ time. End Rabies Now is an initiative of the Global Alliance for Rabies Control (GARC) and other global organisations A new campaign is calling for an end to human deaths from dog-transmitted rabies by 2030. The End Rabies Now campaign urges the international community to step up efforts to eliminate human deaths due to canine-mediated rabies around the world in just 15 years’ time. End Rabies Now is an initiative of the Global Alliance for Rabies Control (GARC) and other global organisations. Campaign partners include the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Veterinary Association and World Animal Protection. The campaign will call for more funds for mass dog vaccination, considered the most effective way of eliminating human deaths from rabies, caused predominantly by dog bites. Read full article on the GARC website.   A website dedicated to the End Rabies Now Campaign has been developed and is accessible here.