Home \ Knowledge Hub \ Articles \ Event Report – Rabies in The Americas (RITA), USA 2019

The annual Rabies in The Americas (RITA) conference took place in Kansas City, USA, from 27^th October to 1^st November 2019. This year was particularly special because it marked the 30^th anniversary of this international scientific meeting. There were a wide range of presentations covering both human and animal aspects of rabies, which is important because rabies is an example of how a One Health approach can work. In addition, the geographical scope of the meeting was not limited to the Americas, with fascinating inputs from Europe, East Africa and Asia. There was also a timely discussion on the ‘Zero By 30’ campaign to achieve zero human dog-mediated rabies deaths by 2030 worldwide, plus updates on how technology can enhance the dog vaccination campaigns which are central to eliminating rabies. This event was one of the highlights of the year for the International Veterinary Health team at MSD Animal Health, which was represented by John Atkinson, and we can’t wait to book our places at the October 2020 meeting to be held in Colombia.

JOHN ATKINSON
Associate Director, International Veterinary Health