Large-Scale Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis for Children for Rabies Elimination: Is it the Right Approach?
Abstract
A global framework for eliminating dog-mediated human rabies by 2030 has been developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), in collaboration with other partners. Most Asian countries where rabies is endemic have controlled human rabies by focusing on human rabies prophylaxis; therefore, human rabies incidence can be brought down, but not rabies elimination. There has been an attempt to focus on PrEP in children, as children account for a significant proportion of exposures to dogs and deaths due to rabies. In this communication, we discuss the pros and cons of relying on PrEP in children to eliminate rabies, where dog-mediated rabies prevails. Large-scale PrEP for children is not simple and easy to implement, and technical challenges should not be ignored. PrEP of the child population should not distract from controlling and subsequently eliminating rabies at source, i.e., dog rabies.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24321/0973.5038.202610
How to cite this article:
Gongal G, Sampath G, Bastola A, Gunesekera A. Large-Scale Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis for Children for Rabies Elimination: Is it the Right Approach? APCRI J. 2026; 28(1): 20-25.
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