Yesterday, in Vung Tau Ward, the Pasteur Institute Ho Chi Minh City, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) in Vietnam, held a workshop on “Strengthening Rabies Prevention and Response in Humans and Animals,” with participation from southern provinces and cities.
Dr. Nguyen Vu Thuong, Deputy Director of the Pasteur Institute Ho Chi Minh City, noted that despite vaccines and multiple intervention programs, rabies remains complex in the Southern region. A major cause is public complacency—many believe bites from household dogs are harmless or rely on traditional remedies.
At the workshop, Dr. Luong Chinh Thien, Deputy Head of the Infectious Disease Prevention Department at the Ho Chi Minh City Center for Disease Control (HCDC), presented data on rabies in Area 3 of the city from 2022 to 2025. The number of people seeking post-exposure treatment has risen sharply each year: 2,163 in 2022, nearly 6,000 in 2023, over 12,800 in 2024, and 14,389 in the first ten months of 2025. Six deaths have been recorded in this area over the past three years.
According to Dr. Thien, all fatalities occurred in patients who did not receive vaccination despite medical advice. Most victims were men (66.7 percent), of working age, and with low educational levels. Although communication campaigns have expanded, public awareness remains limited, and free-roaming of dogs and cats is widespread. In many areas, local health workers lack surveillance skills, leading to delayed outbreak detection.
Deputy Head Nguyen Huu Thiet of the Ho Chi Minh City Sub-Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine stated that after the city’s territorial expansion, the dog and cat population is expected to exceed 310,000. The city is implementing a comprehensive plan to establish rabies-free zones and achieve the target of zero rabies deaths by 2030.
Measures include full financial support for vaccines and vaccination services, the use of pet management software for self-reporting and real-time data monitoring, annual mass vaccination campaigns, and the collection of about 3,500 serum samples per year to assess immunity effectiveness.
Southern localities also reported deploying various grassroots communication models such as mobile loudspeakers in affected areas, school competitions, social media videos and infographics, campaigns to capture stray dogs, and increased vaccination rates in high-risk zones.
Dr. Mgaywa Magafu, a public health specialist at WHO Vietnam, emphasized that rabies remains one of the deadliest infectious diseases but is entirely preventable if people have access to accurate information and timely medical services. He stressed that eliminating rabies requires cross-sector collaboration. With the virus still circulating widely among domestic and wild animals, key solutions remain full vaccination, proactive surveillance, control of animal transport, and raising community awareness.
