Haiti Rabies: Vaccines & Prevention – Global Issues
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Rabies Outbreak in Haiti: A Preventable Tragedy
Last July, in the remote locality of Butête, in southern Haiti, nine-year-old Jonas* lost his life to rabies. When a stray dog bit the boy on the leg, the wound seemed minor.Like many families living far from any health facilities, his mother was unaware that immediate care was critical.
Within a week, the child began to feel weak and refused to eat. By the time he reached the nearest hospital, he had started showing the unmistakable symptoms of the rabies virus, including excruciating muscle spasms and hydrophobia, the fear of water. Not long after, jonas died surrounded by his family.
© WHO / Car
A PAHO health worker prepares a rabies vaccination.
He is the most recent victim of this deadly, but wholly preventable disease that has already claimed four lives this year in the Caribbean island nation, which is dealing with a multitude of crises, including political, economic and political instability as well as acute poverty and lack of access to health services.
Data collected between 2022 and 2024 in Haiti shows the rabies virus continues to pose a serious threat to public health where more than 8,000 suspected cases in dogs were investigated.
Of these, over 1,100 cases were considered probable and 46 were confirmed in a laboratory.
During the same period, there were 24 suspected human cases probably caused by a dog bite, with eight confirmed deaths.
Surveillance, Investigation and Response
As soon as Jonas was admitted to the hospital, the Ministry of Public Health’s National Surveillance network was alerted.
Supported by the Panamerican Health Organization (PAHO) – a part of the World Health Organization (WHO) – this nationwide network of field staff and resources, including locally-based epidemiology assistants and ‘Labo-Moto‘ health workers