activities of Reference Laboratories & Collaborating Centres:OIE twinning programme for rabies: capacity-building in China

摘要

Rabies is considered a major communicable disease threat to animal and human health. The disease has one of the highest case- fatality rates of any infectious disease once clinical signs have appeared. The majority of rabies cases in animals and humans occur in sub- Saharan Africa, on the Indian sub- continent and in South-East Asia,but the disease is under-reported in many rabies-endemic countries. This fact alone demonstrates theneed to build laboratory capability in rabies-endemic countries and ensure that systematic surveillance is undertaken and cases are reported accurately. Asia accounts for an estimated 31,000 human cases of rabies each year, most probably as a result of canine rabies. Of this estimated ?gure, China accounts for approximately 1,000 human rabies cases each year.