Merck Animal Health Supports Rabies Eradication by 2030 on World Rabies Day Nationwide

Madison, NJ-(BUSINESS WIRE)-September 28, 2020-

To commemorate World Rabies Day on September 28, Merck Animal Health (NYSE: MRK, NJ, USA), known as MSD Animal Health outside the United States and Canada, announced today. Launched a global campaign to raise awareness of veterinarians, dog owners and volunteers who are committed to eradicating rabies through ongoing dog vaccination efforts. In collaboration with Mission Rabies and Rabies Free Africa, the Social Media Initiative uses the hashtag #ForThemForUs to recognize and celebrate dogs and individuals working to protect and preserve lives.

Mission Rabies founders Luke Gambling, BVSc, DVM & S, FRCVS, and Luke Gambling said: “Many of us love dogs, which are often not only loved ones, but also hard-working companions.” On this World Rabies Day, dogs are immeasurable in our lives. I want to recognize the role. When protecting dogs from rabies, we are protecting ourselves from this deadly disease. Introducing these efforts throughout the moment of #ForThemForUs immunizes dogs , Rabies prevention is an important and appropriate way to raise awareness about why people are educated about saving lives. “

There are an estimated 900 million dogs worldwide i, but the majority (75-85%) are not domestic dogs ii. To prevent rabies transmission in rabies endemic areas, at least 70% of dogs need to be protected by annual high-dose vaccination. Merck Animal Health has been working to prevent rabies through the Afia program for over 20 years, donating more than 3 million doses of rabies vaccine to meet the World Health Organization’s (WHO) goal of “zero by 2030.” Contributed.

Every year, an estimated 59,000 people die of rabies, and more than 99% of cases develop from dog bites. In addition, 40% of these deaths occur in children under the age of 15. This is partly due to low vaccination rates for dogs in rabies endemic areas and lack of awareness of the disease.

“The use of Merck Animal Health has greatly advanced the research needed to design a cost-effective and efficient vaccination program that reduces the incidence of rabies in both dogs and humans.” Felix Lankester, DVM, Ph.D, Rabies Director Free Africa, Washington State University, Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health. “From scientific research to actual vaccination programs, we are improving the tools needed to prevent rabies. In the meantime, we work with local governments and medical institutions that support local communities. We need to continue to work where rabies prevention is most needed. This will help us reach our rabies eradication goals for 2030. “

Cooperation must continue among human, animal and environmental health agencies to advance sustainable rabies prevention efforts, including annual mass vaccination. Through this One Health approach, all local, regional, national and global animal health advocates play a key role in addressing this public health threat and to keep both dogs and humans healthy. We need to cooperate.

Ingrid Douzman, Global Marketing Director of Companion Animal Vaccines at Merck Animal Health, said: “The first-hand experience of the important work of partners, veterinarians and volunteers is the inspiration behind our campaign. #ForThemForUs” “We recognize the global community about their role in rabies eradication. From local veterinarians veterinating dogs at veterinary clinics to volunteer door-to-door efforts and the mission rabies and rabies free African team on the African continent, veterinating domestic and stray dogs. We hope that by sharing the ForThemForUs moments with people around the world, these talented individuals and non-profit organizations will gain even more awareness and support to expand their efforts to prevent and eradicate rabies. . “

For example, as part of an effort to rabies vaccination in Goa, India, no human rabies deaths have been recorded for two years. “During the COVID-19 pandemic, a local team of mission rabies was still essential to prevent rabies from reappearing in the area. During this period, our team responded to reported rabies dogs. They were also waiting for. After some positive cases were confirmed, they also started an urgent rabies vaccination drive to prevent the spread, “Gambling said.

Veterinarians, dog owners and volunteers are invited to use the hashtag #ForThemForUs to share photos and videos of work that inspires dogs to protect them from rabies.

About mission rabies

Mission Rabies was founded by the Worldwide Veterinary Service (WVS), a charity that supports animals based in the United Kingdom. Mission Rabies is a One Health approach driven by research to eliminate dog bite rabies (an disease that is estimated to kill 59,000 people annually). The mission rabies team, launched in September 2013, has a mission to vaccinate 50,000 dogs across India for rabies, and has since vaccinated 1.1 million dogs, dogs in rabies-endemic countries. Educated more than 3 million children in the prevention of bites. For more information www.missionrabies.com..

About Rabies Free Africa

Rabies-free Africa empowers East African countries to create self-sustaining programs to eliminate current human rabies deaths and build surveillance systems to identify future outbreaks for containment doing. To reach the global goal by 2030, we need to focus on reducing the cost of vaccination of dogs and increasing access to vaccines. Rabies-free Africa has found ways to reduce the cost of vaccination of high-volume dogs and continues to work to improve national and continent-wide programs that make the most of limited resources. For more information www.globalhealth.wsu.edu/initiatives/rabies-free-africa/..

About the Afya program

The Afia Program consists of many rabies control projects supported by Merck Animal Health’s rabies vaccine donations, including Rabies Free Africa, Mission Rabies, and Sharon Live On Project. These projects were put together under the name “Afya”, which means “health” in Swahili. The Afia Program is working to support the Zero Buy 30 Initiative with the goal of eradicating rabies by 2030. For more information www.afya.org..

About Merck Animal Health

For over a century, Merck, the world’s leading biopharmacy company, has been inventing for life, providing medicines and vaccines for many of the world’s most difficult diseases. Merck & Co., Inc.’s division of Merck Animal Health (Kenilworth, NJ, USA) is Merck’s global animal hygiene business unit. Through efforts to ofScience of Healthier Animals®Merck Animal Health offers veterinarians, farmers, pet owners and governments a wide range of veterinary medicines, vaccines, health care solutions and services, as well as a wide suite of digitally connected identification, traceability and surveillance products. I will. Merck Animal Health is committed to maintaining and improving the health, well-being and performance of animals and their caregivers. We invest extensively in dynamic and comprehensive R & D resources and the latest global supply chain. Merck Animal Health exists in more than 50 countries and its products are available in approximately 150 markets. For more information www.merck-animal-health.com Or connect with us LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter @@ MerckAH.

i World Atlas. How many dogs are there in the world? Accessed June 15, 2020. https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/how-many-dogs-are-there-in-the-world.html

ii World Atlas. How many dogs are there in the world? Accessed June 15, 2020. https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/how-many-dogs-are-there-in-the-world.html

iii World Health Organization. Frequently Asked Questions about Public Rabies.. Accessed June 15, 2020. https://www.who.int/rabies/Rabies—General—Public—FAQs—Sep2018.pdf?ua=1

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Contact: Merck

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Keywords: North America, USA, Asia, Pacific Ocean, India, Africa, New Jersey

Industry Keywords: Veterinarians and Other Consumer Infectious Diseases Pet Pet Epidemiology Pharmaceutical Consumer Health Foundation Other Epidemiology

Source: Merck & Co., Inc.

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PUB: 09/28/2020 06:45 AM / DISC: 09/28/2020 06:45 AM

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