keep your family and pets safe from rabies the recent outbreak of rabies in south africa has brought to light how terrible this disease is and how as pet parents we need to be vigilant to keep our families safe. rabies is a 100% preventable disease, yet 55 000 people around the world die every year from the disease. several major health organisations, including world health organization (who), world organization for animal health (oie), and the food and agriculture organization of the united nations (fao), have pledged to eliminate human deaths from dog--transmitted rabies by 2030. as pet parents, the first step we can take in helping to make this happen is to vaccinate our pets. dr. guy fyvie, nutritional adviser at hill’s pet nutrition, south africa provides some tips on how to stay safe during a rabies outbreak: •children under the age of 15 makeup 40% of the reported cases of being bitten by a suspected rabies infected animal, it is important to warn your children of the risks of in--