[Current situations and future issues surrounding rabies in Japan and other countries].

Abstract

Rabies is a viral infectious disease affecting the central nervous system that is generally transmitted from mammals such as dogs. This disease is characterized by a long incubation period (a few months on average) and a high mortality rate of almost 100%. While there are highly effective rabies vaccines, no reliable treatment has been established to date. In Japan, the disease was successfully eradicated in 1957 as a result of exhaustive control measures including vaccination of dogs in accordance with the Rabies Prevention Law. Since then, Japan has continued to take rabies control measures based on this law, which are stricter than international standards. On the other hand, there have been a total of four imported human rabies cases found in Japan. The fourth imported case confirmed in Toyohashi City in May 2020 is still fresh in our minds. In April 2022, special measures were taken to quarantine dogs brought by evacuees from Ukraine to Japan, and many people expressed concern about the introduction of rabies into Japan. More recently, in February 2024, a dog that bit several people in Gunma Prefecture did not receive the shots required by the Rabies Prevention Law, and there was strong concern about rabies and the risk of its occurrence. In this article, we focus on rabies, which has recently attracted a great deal of attention, and describe the nature of this infectious disease. We also outline the current situations of rabies control and medical care in Japan and other countries and discuss the future issues.