MOSCOW, September 28 (Itar-Tass) — Over 55,000 people in the world die of rabies every year and more than ten million people undergo medical treatment for it. This infection is tenth-significant cause of human fatalities in the list of infectious diseases and is registered in more than150 countries.These data are given by the World Health Organization (WHO) study for the World Anti-Rabies Action Day which is marked on Wednesday.
From four to twenty-two cases of incidence of the disease have been annually recorded in Russia for over 40 years. "From 250,000 to 450,000 people apply for medical aid every year in view of attacks by animals," says a report issued by Rospotrebnadzor (Federal Service for Supervision of Consumers Protection and Welfare).
"Recent years have seen a deterioration of the situation connected with rabies among animals and the number of unfortunate points has been growing. Epizootics of natural type (among animals) are taking shape and efforts to fight them encounter difficulties and are not legislatively sealed. The number of neglected animals increases against the background of the unsatisfactory condition of the public services in settlements and towns," specialists maintain.
Humans get infected with rabies from domestic animals and those living in the wild, predominantly carnivorous ones as a result of close contact with infected saliva or in case of bites and scratches (by dogs, cats, foxes, racoon dogs, etc.).
Until now the only means of aid to humans subjected to the risk of infection is a timely injection of anti-rabies immunoblobulin and the prescription of a therapeutic immunization course. The vaccine used in the Russian Federaiton is a highly effective medicinal preparation that is up to all WHO requirements.
"All people who fell ill with rabies in our country, either did not take an anti-rabies course at all or discontinued it for some reason," the Rospotrebnadzor official pointed out.