117 frontline workers. 58 districts. One rapid test changing the fight against rabies.
The Veterinary Association of Zambia is proud to spotlight a defining step forward in the national fight against rabies. Under the project “Enhancing Rabies Surveillance in Zambia Using Lateral Flow Devices for Diagnosis and Genome Surveillance” — led by the University of Zambia School of Veterinary Medicine, the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock and the Central Veterinary Research Institute, with technical partners Nagasaki University, Hokkaido University and Oita University — rapid, on-site rabies diagnosis is now a reality for frontline responders across Zambia.
What changed
Before: a suspected rabies sample travelled from the field to District Veterinary Offices and on to CVRI and UNZA in Lusaka for confirmation — a wait that averaged 5 days, while bite victims and their families lived with uncertainty.
Now: the ADTEC Rabies Lateral Flow Device (LFD) Card delivers a reliable result in just 15–20 minutes, right where the sample is taken — and the same card doubles as a tool for national genomic surveillance, feeding Zambia’s growing rabies-strain database.
The LFD roll-out at a glance, since project launch in June 2025.
What this means for Zambia
- Bite victims and clinicians get answers in minutes, not days — enabling faster, better-informed decisions on post-exposure care.
- Confirmed cases now map disease hotspots in near real time, sharpening where mass dog-vaccination campaigns are targeted.
- Zambia strengthens its standing as a regional leader in One Health rabies surveillance, with more than 80 samples already feeding genomic analysis at UNZA and CVRI.
What this means for the veterinary profession
- Frontline vets and para-vets are now equipped with a diagnostic tool once confined to referral laboratories — a genuine leap in capability, not just convenience.
- 117 personnel across 8 of Zambia’s 10 provinces have been trained and equipped, with roll-out to Western and Northern Provinces underway.
- It reaffirms the profession’s frontline role in national public health, working hand in hand with human health and wildlife partners.
With training now rolling out to the final two provinces, Zambia moves closer to a shared goal: zero human deaths from dog-mediated rabies by 2030.
VAZ thanks the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, the Central Veterinary Research Institute, the UNZA School of Veterinary Medicine, and our partners at Nagasaki University, Hokkaido University and Oita University for driving this milestone forward — and salutes the 117 frontline officers carrying it into Zambia’s districts.
Issued by the Veterinary Association of Zambia — www.vaz.org.zm