Every year on September 28, World Rabies Day is celebrated. This day is intended to draw people's attention to the problem of the spread of rabies among both humans and animals, as well as its consequences. The date of September 28 was not chosen at random. On this day in 1895, French scientist Louis Pasteur, who invented the rabies vaccine and thus saved millions of people bitten by rabid animals from certain death, died.
According to WHO estimates, rabies is one of the five most dangerous zoonoses. This disease is registered in 150 countries around the world. Every year, up to 60,000 people die from rabies worldwide, 40% of whom are children, as well as more than 1 million animals.
In Ukraine, the epidemic situation regarding human rabies remains unstable, with isolated cases of the disease being registered: in 2024, there were 2 cases (1 case each in the Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions), and in the first 8 months of 2025, there was 1 case in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
It should be noted that in the Donetsk region, amid ongoing hostilities and population evacuation, all the prerequisites for the emergence of human rabies remain: the presence of unattended domestic animals, an increase in the number of wild animals entering populated areas, and the inability to control the population of red foxes—the main reservoir of rabies in nature—and vaccinate them.
What is dangerous about rabies?
Rabies is a dangerous infectious disease of animals and humans caused by the neurotropic Rabies virus. The rabies virus affects the central nervous system and, once symptoms appear, becomes incurable—100% of infected people die.
The source of rabies among domestic animals is cats and dogs (both stray and domestic), and in the wild – primarily red foxes, as well as wolves, hedgehogs, bats, and others.
Rabies is transmitted to humans through bites or scratches inflicted by an infected animal or when its saliva comes into contact with mucous membranes and broken skin. The incubation period for rabies is 1–3 months, but can vary from 1 week to 1 year.
The first symptoms of rabies are fever, pain, and a tingling or burning sensation at the bite site. When the virus reaches the brain, the person begins to experience hallucinations, agitation, confusion, and photophobia. One of the signs of this disease is hydrophobia, difficulty swallowing liquids, and convulsions when trying to drink water. Therefore, rabies is also called hydrophobia. When these symptoms appear, the disease is already incurable and the person dies in terrible agony. The cause of death is late referral to doctors and late initiation of treatment. It is important to remember that there is no cure for rabies, and the disease always ends in death.
However, timely medical attention and rabies vaccinations will save the life of a bitten person.
To avoid rabies infection, follow these tips:
Regularly vaccinate your pets against rabies.
If you suspect your pet has rabies, contact your veterinarian immediately.
Avoid contact with stray and wild animals.
if you are bitten by a suspicious animal, thoroughly wash the wound for 15 minutes with water and laundry soap, treat the edges of the wound with alcohol or iodine solution, apply a sterile bandage, and seek immediate medical attention at the trauma department of a hospital. If necessary, your doctor will prescribe a course of rabies vaccinations. This course mainly consists of 5 doses of the vaccine over the course of a month. Do not refuse the prescribed preventive treatment, do not interrupt the vaccination course on your own.
Please note that healthcare facilities in the Donetsk region are supplied with rabies vaccine.
Remember! The sooner you seek medical help after being bitten by an animal, the better your chances of avoiding fatal consequences!
Stay healthy!!!
State Institution “DONETSK REGIONAL CENTER FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASES AND CHILDREN'S HEALTH OF THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH”