I started to discuss rabies in last week’s review on Beijing vaccines, but there’s a lot of other information that expats need to know. Why is this so important? Because rabies is a major problem in China, and thousands of people die every year in China from infected dog bites — the majority of whom are children under 15 years, and whose lives would have been saved by receiving the rabies vaccines earlier.

One thing you should not assume is that your neighbor’s dog is vaccinated, even an expat’s dog. Only 10% of China’s dogs are properly vaccinated. Nor should you assume that your local Beijing vet clinic is properly licensed! There’s a certain certificate and plaque from the government that you need to make sure your clinic displays; if they don’t have it, then they’re probably not legal. There’s more information here in this downloadable PDF file Essentials on Vaccinating Your Pets, provided by Beijing’s International Center for Veterinary Services.

You can download some other valuable documents, also from ICV:

• World Rabies Day Sept 28 (Word doc)

Here is more information for you: WHO Rabies Fact Sheets.