Merck Animal Health Marks Commitment to Rabies Elimination Through Donation of NOBIVAC® Rabies Vaccines to Mission Rabies
Rahway, NJ., March 18, 2024 – Merck Animal Health, a division of Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, N.J., USA (NYSE:MRK) has announced a continued commitment to rabies elimination through a donation of NOBIVAC® rabies vaccines to the Mission Rabies program, a charity initiative of the Worldwide Veterinary Service (WVS). The donations will continue over the next 5 years and support the full annual rabies vaccine requirements of this non-profit organization.
Rabies has a 100% fatality rate once symptoms develop and 99% of human cases are transmitted through dog bites, which is why eliminating rabies is crucial to safeguard human lives.i Despite being completely vaccine-preventable, rabies kills an estimated 59,000 people a year, many of whom are children.[i]
Merck Animal Health in partnership with Mission Rabies is dedicated to supporting the ambitious United Against Rabies Forum global goal of zero dog-mediated human rabies deaths by 2030. Spearheaded by the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the campaign focuses on three key pillars to work towards a world free of rabies: vaccination, awareness, and collaboration.
“Merck has contributed to global efforts to limit the transmission of rabies for more than a quarter of a century and this donation is yet another demonstration of our ongoing commitment, ” said David Sutton, Global Marketing Director, Merck Animal Health. “We will continue in our fight against rabies, and encourage others to take action against this deadly disease that impacts some of the most vulnerable populations, including children in high-risk regions.”
“Rabies, a dreadful and deadly disease, poses a significant threat to both humans and animals, particularly children,” emphasizes Luke Gamble, Founder and CEO of WVS. “Through our extensive projects, we’ve demonstrated that rabies can be eliminated through large-scale vaccination campaigns, offering crucial protection to vulnerable communities in some of the world’s most impoverished regions. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Merck Animal Health for their unwavering support, and united, we remain steadfast in our mission to eliminate rabies once and for all.”
Merck Animal Health and Mission Rabies have worked in collaboration since 2013, resulting in over two million dogs vaccinated in countries around the world. This has included projects in India, Tanzania, Ghana, Uganda, Malawi, Sri Lanka and Cambodia. In May 2023 the partnership led to the vaccination of 75,000 dogs in Cambodia in just ten days, in a city where one to two children are estimated to die each week from rabies.
For more than 25 years, Merck Animal Health has supported efforts aimed at increasing canine rabies vaccination rates across the globe through its Afya Program (www.afya.org). The company has supplied Rabies Free Africa and Mission Rabies with over five million doses of life-saving vaccines to date, thanks to the engagement of vets around the world.
About Merck Animal Health
At Merck, known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, we are unified around our purpose: We use the power of leading-edge science to save and improve lives around the world. For more than a century, we’ve been at the forefront of research, bringing forward medicines, vaccines and innovative health solutions for the world’s most challenging diseases. Merck Animal Health, a division of Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, N.J., USA, is the global animal health business of Merck. Through its commitment to The Science of Healthier Animals®, Merck Animal Health offers veterinarians, farmers, producers, pet owners and governments one of the widest ranges of veterinary pharmaceuticals, vaccines and health management solutions and services as well as an extensive suite of connected technology that includes identification, traceability and monitoring products. Merck Animal Health is dedicated to preserving and improving the health, well-being and performance of animals and the people who care for them. It invests extensively in dynamic and comprehensive R&D resources and a modern, global supply chain. Merck Animal Health is present in more than 50 countries, while its products are available in some 150 markets. For more information, visit www.merck-animal-health.com and connect with us on www.merck-animal-health.com and connect with us on LinkedIn, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram.
About Worldwide Veterinary Service
Worldwide Veterinary Service (WVS) is an international veterinary charity based in the UK. Set up by veterinarian Dr Luke Gamble in 2003, and became part of the Dogs Trust family in 2023, the charity provides veterinary support to animals in need and acts as a central veterinary resource for animal charities and non-profit organisations around the world. Since 2003 WVS has treated over 570,000 animals, sent over 11,000 parcels of veterinary aid, and trained over 7,700 veterinary professionals. WVS run their own projects, from neutering campaigns in Malawi to equine clinics in India, and training local and international vets at their centers in India, Africa, Thailand, and the Galápagos Islands. For more information, please visit www.wvs.org.uk.
About Mission Rabies
Mission Rabies was initially founded as an initiative by Worldwide Veterinary Service (WVS), a United Kingdom-based charity group that assists animals. Mission Rabies has a One Health approach driven by research to eliminate dog bite transmitted rabies (a disease that is estimated to kill 59,000 people annually). Launched in September 2013 with a mission to vaccinate 50,000 dogs against rabies across India, Mission Rabies teams have since then vaccinated over two million dogs and educated more than five million children in dog bite prevention in rabies endemic countries. For more information, visit www.missionrabies.com.
Forward-Looking Statement of Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, N.J., USA
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Source
i The World Health Organization. Rabies Fact Sheet. Accessed June 2, 2023. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/rabies