So, why Nepal?

In almost exactly 24 hours I will be boarding my first of 3 flights to get to Nepal! Am I excited? What do you think, c'mon. Am I nervous, yep. This is my first time travelling internationally and I am doing it solo. Not to mention, my housing plans fell through and I don't have a place to rest my head Thursday evening. It's all part of the adventure ...right? 

Yesterday my little brother Daniel asked me, "Jess, soooo...why are you going to Nepal?" I thought I had made that clear, but apparently not. So for Daniel, and anyone else who I haven't yet told, I am going to Nepal to do rabies research. If I have already talked your ear off about this, just skip ahead to the next post. 

So, why rabies and why Nepal? 

I personally find rabies to be a fascinating disease. Horrible, neglected, and fascinating. (In an effort to keep these posts from being long dissertations, I will write another post about the disease in the future) Rabies is a worldwide problem with direct animal-human transmission. Thanks to science, we have an affordable and effective vaccine that can offer protection and halt transmission of the disease. However, rabies still claims thousands of human lives every year, with the vast majority of those deaths resulting from rabid dog bites.  

Rabies is, 

by no stretch of the imagination, 

a disease of the past. 

In America, it is well controlled and we only hear of the rare occasional case. But in developing countries, particularly Africa and Asia, it is a very real threat to human life. This fear and death is unnecessary and I feel compelled to do something about it. As a veterinarian, I see a niche where I can really make a difference. By working with the animals, I can help save human lives. Which brings me to answer the question of why Nepal. 

Nepal, particularly Kathmandu, has a huge stray dog population, with the latest estimates around 30,000 stray dogs*. There are no vaccination laws and essentially no animal control programs in place. As a result, rabies is endemic in the dog population of Nepal. The disease can easily and rapidly spread among dogs and when these dogs bite humans, humans can be infected with rabies. My research is focused on determining the risk factors for dog bites. I aim to answer questions like, is it the stray dog population that is inflicting more bites or are more people being bitten by their own dogs? Is there a certain breed, health condition, or sex of dog that is more likely to bite? What are the general attitudes of the local people towards dogs? What do they know and believe about rabies? 

I am working with Humane Society International while I am over there. They are implementing a self-sustaining rabies vaccination protocol and population control program in Kathmandu. My research will be utilized by them to determine where to target their efforts and also to campaign for more vaccine compliance and government involvement. I will also be a part of their other efforts, such as vaccination clinics, spay and neuter clinics, and education campaigns. 

So, why rabies, why Nepal, why my entire summer? Because I can. Because it needs to be done.

References:  

*Thapa, G. (2016). A dogged drive against stray dogs of capital.