Each year, World Rabies Day is observed on 28 September, anniversary date of Louis Pasteur’s death, with various institutions globally organizing events to raise awareness about this deadly disease.
This seminar, one day before the Official Rabies Day, highlighted the ongoing public health challenges posed by rabies due to unvaccinated free-roaming dogs and limited access to post-exposure prophylaxis. In Cambodia, recent collaborative efforts by the Center of Disease Control (Ministry of Public Health), the General Directorate of Animal Health (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries), the Institut Pasteur du Cambodge (IPC), CIRAD (French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development) and other partners have made significant strides in rabies control through public health education, increased access to post exposure prophylaxis, enhanced surveillance and mass vaccination campaigns. Supported by the KAP-Rabies project funded by the French Embassy (Fonds Equipe France), this seminar on rabies marking World Rabies Day 2024 presented advancements and provide a platform to promote strategies aimed at eliminating dog-mediated rabies fatalities in Cambodia by 2030.