ECOWAS called on member states, health services, local authorities, communities and partners to intensify joint efforts to prevent and eliminate human deaths from rabies, in a statement from its Regional Animal Health Centre in Bissau for World Rabies Day.
The statement said this year’s commemoration is held under the theme “Stronger Together,” and described the elimination of rabies as a collective responsibility requiring coordinated action consistent with the “One Health” approach.
Rabies is transmitted mainly through the saliva of infected animals, particularly following dog bites or scratches, according to the statement, and is almost always fatal once clinical signs appear.
The statement cited global figures of around 59,000 human deaths from rabies each year, nearly 40 per cent of them children under the age of 15.
In Africa, it said, World Health Organization estimates indicate more than 21,000 human deaths annually are attributable to rabies transmitted by dogs.
For the ECOWAS region, the statement said available data remain incomplete, largely because of under-detection and under-reporting.
It said that during the first quarter of 2026, of 786 outbreaks of priority zoonoses reported by member states, 305 were linked to dog-transmitted rabies, representing 38.8 per cent of all reported outbreaks.
The statement listed dog vaccination, surveillance, the management of stray dogs, community awareness and access to post-exposure prophylaxis as the main pillars of prevention.
It said any bite or scratch from a potentially infected animal must be treated as an emergency, with particular attention paid to children, and that families and schools must be sensitised to avoid unfamiliar or stray dogs and to report any bite or scratch immediately.
The recommended steps set out in the statement are:
- Wash the wound immediately with running tap water and soap for at least 15 minutes.
- Disinfect, if possible, with a suitable antiseptic.
- Consult a healthcare professional immediately to assess the risk and, if necessary, begin post-exposure prophylaxis.
- Do not wait for symptoms to appear, because once clinical signs appear rabies is almost always fatal.
- Report the animal to the relevant veterinary authorities, particularly if it is a stray, unknown, unwell or behaving unusually.
ECOWAS reaffirmed its commitment to contributing to the global goal of zero human deaths from canine rabies by 2030, and the importance of a One Health approach to strengthen mobilisation and ensure the availability of the resources needed for the prevention, surveillance and control of rabies.
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