La Rabia, una enfermedad ancestral muy vigente

Rabies is an acute and fatal infectious disease. It mainly affects the central nervous system and the virus usually enters the body through the bite of a rabid animal. It is a zoonosis that still kills between 40,000 and 70,000 people each year and 40% of them are children. This disease has been known and referred to since the time of the Greeks. In several countries, urban rabies transmitted by dogs continues: however, in 2019, Mexico was recognized as “free of canine rabies by the World Health Organization. After the transmission of canine rabies to humans was controlled, bat rabies has become the leading cause of rabies in humans and animals in several Latin American countries. Vampire bat rabies is a problem that challenges public and animal health authorities, and solutions must be implemented in a coordinated manner, using and improving detection of the virus and antibodies in vaccinated animals, carrying out active surveillance. It is urgent to implement the “One Health” vision to combat this and other common diseases.