Mission Rabies first came to Malawi in 2015 following a publication in the Lancet medical journal which reported the highest number of child rabies deaths at a single institution in Africa at the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH), Blantyre, Malawi [1]. In response to reading the editorial, Mission Rabies contacted the medics at the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital and presented a proposal to tackle the problem.
Thanks to the support of Dogs Trust and MSD Animal Health, our initiative to eliminate canine transmitted human rabies deaths in Malawi through mass canine vaccination began in 2015. Our Blantyre City mass dog vaccination campaign has continued annually since 2015, repeatedly hitting the 70% vaccination coverage target required for herd immunity. Subsequent research demonstrated that this approach was successful at reducing child deaths from rabies [2].
World Rabies Day: evidence of rise in paediatric rabies cases in Malawi
Depani, Sarita et al.
The Lancet, Volume 380, Issue 9848, 1148
Canine rabies vaccination reduces child rabies cases in Malawi
Zimmer, Barbara L et al.
The Lancet, Volume 392, Issue 10153, 1115 - 1116
Based on the success of the initial pilot project in Blantyre city, our work has grown and expanded every year. We now work across 15 districts in the central and southern region, namely, Blantyre, Zomba, Chiradzulu, Chikwawa, Thyolo, Balaka, Mulanje, Phalombe, Mwanza, Neno, Nsanje, Machinga, Mangochi, Ntcheu and Dedza.
During 2024, we worked with the DAHLD to vaccinate a total of 151,046 dogs and achieved over 70% coverage across 11 working districts. Rabies surveillance through Integrated Bite Case Management (IBCM) was also expanded across the southern region with Mission Rabies training government staff in best practice surveillance methods and testing of suspected rabies cases.
The result has been a significant reduction in child rabies cases at Blantyre's Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital.
We are now continuing to expand our work even further across the country to ensure that more people can benefit from the protection that canine vaccination brings.
