Transforming rabies protection
University of Glasgow researchers have received a prestigious Prix Galien UK Award for their work on rabies prevention by the Galien Foundation, the premier global institution dedicated to honouring innovators in life sciences.
The Best Health Equity Initiative Award was given to Professor Katie Hampson and her team for their decade-long dedication to global health equity, focused on how to transform rabies prevention into an accessible, life-saving reality for the world's most vulnerable communities through the use of a highly effective, one-week vaccine course.
The prestigious award celebrates initiatives that address critical healthcare disparities and improve access to essential care for underserved populations.mThe Prix Galien Foundation said Prof Hampson’s work exemplified the profound impact that research, collaboration, and dedication can have in advancing health equity and saving lives on a global scale.
Professor Hampson said: “Receiving the Prix Galien UK Award is a real honour. I feel so fortunate to work with such fantastic colleagues from rabies-affected countries who work tirelessly to prevent rabies deaths. With promised investments, we are hopeful that the many tragic personal stories that we have been witness to won’t have to occur in future.”
Rabies is one of the clearest examples of a preventable disease sustained by health inequity, as death can be prevented through the timely delivery of post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). Despite this, around 59,000 people die from dog-mediated rabies each year, with 95% of deaths occurring in Africa and Asia, where the disease persists in domestic dog populations. The burden falls disproportionately on poor and marginalised communities, especially children.
Through the work of Professor Hampson and her team, the cost of both emergency rabies prevention and clinic visits is now reduced; and the team’s efforts led Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to commit funding to rabies prevention in up to 67 low-income nations, including Tanzania, Madagascar and Côte d'Ivoire which have submitted early applications to Gavi.