Open Source Educational Initiatives to Improve Awareness of Rabies Prevention

Rabies is the deadliest infectious disease known to humans and animals and yet is almost always preventable even after an exposure has occurred. The lack of educational awareness is a major reason why over 55,000 people die of the disease every year. The Global Alliance for Rabies Control, in association with international partners in the field of public health, initiated new educational initiatives aimed at increasing global awareness for those living at daily risk of exposure to rabies. Three of the open source educational initiatives are described in this chapter, including: World Rabies Day; the establishment of a freely accessible scientifically accurate education bank; and hosting global webinars that connect public health experts interested in reducing the burden of rabies in their regions.