ONE HEALTH IN ACTION - Rabies elimination depends on interconnected action. Education, vaccination, surveillance, and legislation cannot work in isolation, they must function as part of one coordinated system. This year’s WRD theme, “Stronger Together,” highlights a simple truth: rabies elimination is only possible when we work together. World Rabies Day 2026 reinforces the importance of a One Health approach, recognizing the connection between human, animal, and environmental health. In celebration of One Health Day, GARC announces the WRD Award Nominations.

We are a faculty-student team at the Western University of Health Sciences College of Veterinary Medicine in Pomona, CA hosting the annual WesternU One Health Day Symposium, which is open to our health sciences campus and regional colleges and universities. This year, the event is scheduled for Tuesday, November 3, 2026, 4-8 pm on the WesternU Pomona campus. Thematically, our focus is Bats, Bugs & Borders: Emerging Zoonoses in a Warming World and will feature talks followed by a panel with all the speakers.

The Mahr One Health Lecture by Dr. John M. Dye will examine the Bundibugyo ebolavirus outbreak in Africa and the Andes hantavirus outbreak, two events that highlight how emerging zoonotic viruses can cross species barriers and challenge existing diagnostics, vaccines, therapeutics, and public health systems.