The disease is found worldwide and high vaccination uptake is required to keep the rates of infection low. It is still prevalent in many countries due to low immunisation levels, especially the Indian Subcontinent, Central and South East Asia, Africa and South America.

Rabies is found in over 150 countries around the world and an estimated to cause tens of thousands of deaths in endemic countries. Children are especially vulnerable to rabies and 40% of bites occur in children under the age of 15 years.  95% of deaths from rabies occur in the Indian Subcontinent, Africa and South East Asia.

If someone who is unvaccinated against Rabies is infected, Human Rabies Immunoglobulin (HRIG) could be a lifesaver. However, HRIG is often unavailable or unreliable in many countries. Without HRIG, the results of a rabies infection is often fatal, and so a rabies vaccination before you travel is the best way to protect yourself.

An estimated 350 million people are thought to be chronic carriers of the infection and 686,000 people die every year from the complications of hepatitis B infection (WHO data). The countries with the highest prevalence of infection include Africa and East Asia where 5-10% of the population are chronically infected with the disease. High disease prevalence also occurs in the Middle East, Southern and Eastern Europe and the Indian Subcontinent.