On Tuesday, StarLeaf announced its support for Mission Rabies, a campaign that seeks to eliminate rabies cases in India. In September, the charity will vaccinate 50,000 dogs in 30 days in heavily affected areas across the country.
According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC), rabies is typically caused by the bite of infected animals like bats, skunks and raccoons. The rabies virus attacks the central nervous system of the victim, infects the brain and eventually leads to death. If treated early, victims have a high probability of survival.
The Mission Rabies website states that more people die of rabies in India than anywhere else in the world. About every two seconds, someone is bitten by an infected dog, and about 24 people a day die from the disease.
A common reaction Indian authorities have to rabies outbreaks is to euthanize all the dogs in the area, regardless of whether they are infected or not. Mission Rabies argues that dog euthanization has little effect and may allow infected street dogs to take over an area after a cull.
The World Health Organization agrees. Its site states, “The most cost-effective strategy for preventing rabies in people is by eliminating rabies in dogs through vaccination.”
Sunnyvale, Calif.-based StarLeaf provides cloud solutions for videoconferencing. Packages range in size from single user to group-sized. They come with a monthly access fee and the cost of phones, webcams and monitors included in the package.
StarLeaf will provide some of its videoconferencing technology during the vaccination campaign in September to allow veterinarians to communicate with each other and track their progress. Volunteer veterinarians will also be able to train local veterinarians to perform neutering and vaccinations.
The campaign will continue into the future. Mission Rabies will return to India each September for World Rabies Day to perform mass vaccinations. It seeks to vaccinate two million dogs in the country over the next three years and create the India National Rabies Network to oversee vaccine distribution and record data.
StarLeaf and Mission Rabies are part of a noble endeavor to reduce rabies in India. Past history seems to support the argument that mass vaccinations are the best solution. It worked in eradicating smallpox over 30 years ago. The only difference now is that dogs will be vaccinated instead of humans.
One of the more saddening aspects of the disease in India is that most rabies victims are children. Fortunately, Mission Rabies has an effective plan that is likely to solve that problem.
Edited by
Alisen Downey
