Vo Hai Son, Deputy Director of the Department of Disease Prevention (Ministry of Health), announced these figures at the World Rabies Day 2026 rally on 24/9.

Between 2022 and 2025, Vietnam averaged 77 rabies deaths annually. In the first nine months of this year, 54 people nationwide died from rabies. Approximately 400,000 individuals received post-exposure prophylaxis after being bitten by dogs or cats, with estimated vaccine costs exceeding 300 billion VND each year.

In Hanoi, no human rabies deaths have been reported since 2023. However, the risk remains due to the presence of rabies in animals across many areas. Six outbreaks of rabid dogs have been recorded in Hoa Lac, Ha Bang, Doai Phuong, Kieu Phu, Thach That, and Yen Xuan since the beginning of the year. Some rabid dogs have bitten people, leading to more than 30,000 people requiring rabies prophylaxis annually, according to Nguyen Dinh Hung, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Health.

Rabies is a dangerous acute infectious disease caused by the rabies virus, transmitted from animals to humans. Once clinical symptoms appear, the disease is almost untreatable, with a very high mortality rate. However, rabies is highly preventable if individuals promptly manage post-exposure incidents and fully implement animal management and vaccination measures for pets.

Hanoi promotes rabies prevention. Photo: Duy Tuan

According to Son, controlling the source of infection from animals, especially the dog population, is a fundamental solution to eliminate human rabies. The vaccination rate for dogs needs to reach a minimum of 70%. However, the current vaccination rate for dogs and cats remains low.

Individuals bitten, scratched, or licked by dogs or cats on broken skin should immediately wash the wound thoroughly under running water for about 15 minutes. Afterward, they should visit a medical facility to receive a rabies vaccine. Self-treatment with traditional herbal remedies or folk methods is not advised, as the chance of survival is very low once rabies symptoms develop.

Vietnam aims to eliminate human rabies deaths by 2030, adopting a "One Health" approach that combines disease control in humans, animals, and the environment.

Le Nga