World Rabies Day is observed annually on September 28, the death anniversary of Louis Pasteur who developed the first rabies vaccine in collaboration with his colleagues. In Iran, five people died due to the disease last year (ended March 20), said Mohammad Shirzadi, head of Zoonoses Control Department at the Health Ministry. “The viral disease can be prevented, but can cause death if the anti-rabies vaccine is not immediately administered,” ISNA quoted him as saying.
There are more than 700 health centers which provide timely injection of the vaccine to prevent rabies in victims of animal bites, he added.
