Last July, in the remote locality of Butête, in southern Haiti, nine-year-old Jonas* lost his life to Rabies.
When a stray dog bite the boy on the leg, the wound seemed less. Like many families who lived far from health facilities, his mother was not aware that immediate care was critical.
Within a week, the baby began to feel weak and refused to eat. When he reached the nearest hospital, he had begun to show the unmistakable symptoms of rabies virus, including dishonest muscle spasms and hydrophobia, fear of water.
A PAHO health worker prepares a rabies vaccination.
Not long after, Jonas died surrounded by his family.
He is the latest victim of this deadly but completely preventable illness that has already demanded four lives this year in the Caribbean Iceland Nation, which deals with a number of crises, including political, economic and political instability as well as emergency poverty and lack of access to healthcare.
Data collected between 2022 and 2024 in Haiti shows that the rabies virus continues to pose a serious threat to public health, with more than 8,000 suspected cases in dogs being investigated.
Of these, over 1,100 cases were considered likely and 46 were confirmed in a laboratory.
During the same period, there were 24 suspects human cases probably caused by a dog bite, with eight confirmed deaths.
Monitoring, study and response
As soon as Jonas was admitted to the hospital, the Ministry of Public Health’s national surveillance network was warned.
Supported by the Pan-American 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 visiting society on motorcycles, swinging quickly.
A ‘Labo Moto’ health worker is traveling by motorcycle to visit a patient.
A black team was deployed to Butête to confirm that no one else in the community had been exposed to rabies.
The boy’s family was closely monitored and received care after exposure. The team also inspected the area where the dog and her puppies were dead.
The study recommended to organize a dog vaccination campaign, strengthen surveillance and improve access to human rabies vaccines for treatment after exposure.
A black team was deployed to Butête to confirm that no one else in the community had been exposed to rabies.
The boy’s family was closely monitored and received care after exposure. The team also inspected the area where the dog and her puppies were dead.
The study recommended to organize a dog vaccination campaign, strengthen surveillance and improve access to human rabies vaccines for treatment after exposure.
A dog is vaccinated against rabies in Haiti.
Deadly, but totally preventable
To slow down the spread of rabies in Haiti, a dog -vaccination campaign was launched in August with the goal of vaccinating about 140,000 dogs, including stray and community animals, while increasing the public’s awareness of prevention.
At the forefront of this, training was provided to four departmental coordinators, seventeen municipal coordinators and more than 480 veterinary aid agents, which were later deployed in 240 teams across priority areas in the four departments in Artibonite, Center, North-West and North-Odoest.
An important innovation was the use of a mobile app to detect vaccinated dogs that allow real -time data collection, coverage monitoring and improved data quality.
“By vaccinating dogs on a large scale, we directly protect human society – especially children. It is a simple but important action that saves lives,” explained Dr. Oscar Barreneche, PAHO/WHO representative in Haiti. “Rabies are deadly but 100 percent preventable.”
Building of prolonged resilience
Achieving an impacted 80 percent vaccination coverage among target dog population is expected to reduce rabies virus circulation significantly in dogs.
The campaign also aims to raise awareness of the prevention of rabies and promote appropriate answers to bite from suspected rabid animals.
“Despite the challenges and restrictions set by the security situation and the total instability of the country, we consider this vaccination campaign as a significant success,” Dr. Haïm Joseph Corvil, coordinator of protection unit at Haiti’s Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural.
Global Health Challenge
Rabies are still one of the world’s most deadly zoonotic diseases – infections that can be transmitted from animals to humans.
Globally, it causes an estimated 59,000 deaths annually, of which 40 percent are children.
Across America, a 98 percent reduction has been achieved in the case of human rabies transferred by dogs and dropped from 300 cases in 1983 to only 10 cases reported in the past year, according to PAHO.
* The name has changed to protect the person’s identity
