Rabies and Rabies Vaccines
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The book Rabies and Rabies Vaccines reviews the recent advances in rabies research and rabies vaccine development. The reader is introduced to biology and pathology of the virus, causing agents and the history of rabies vaccination. The book presents regional rabies prophylaxis programs and discusses vaccination strategies for wildlife and humans. Further, innate immune response as well as antibody response to rabies are examined.
All chapters are written by renowned experts in rabies research, some of them part of the WHO Collaboration Centre for Rabies Surveillance and Research.
The book targets researchers and health professionals working in Virology, Veterinary Medicine and Biomedicine.
This book is dedicated to rabies virus and the different vaccines that are available or under investigation to combat this deadly pathogen. Why do we need another book on a disease that no one living in developed countries worries about unless it is time to go and get pets vaccinated.
The fact we do not worry about rabies is the reason we decided to write this book. Rabies is a neglected disease, a disease we do not fear and therefore do not invest in. While I am writing this preface, we are in the middle of a dreadful pandemic caused by a new coronavirus, called SARS-CoV-2, which by now in mid-April of 2020 has killed over 100,000 people and is estimated to kill by August 2020 about 60,000 humans in the USA. Rabies each year kills 60,000 humans and that number is likely an underestimate. Probiotics and Prebiotics in Animal Health and Food Safety
While SARS-CoV-2 has been dominating the news for weeks and resulted in massive global shutdowns, no one raises the alarm about rabies for it is a disease of the underprivileged. Rabies is preventable—we have vaccines and other biologicals that can protect humans, their pets, and even wildlife animals; nevertheless, the death toll due to this virus, which is the most fatal of all viruses that can infect humans, has not declined in decades.
We hope that this book written by rabies experts, many of whom serve as advisors to international health agencies, such as the World Health Organization, will not only serve as a guidance for health care professionals dedicated to the treatment and prevention of rabies, but also raise awareness in others. I wish to thank the authors, who contributed.