This Medical Product Alert relates to falsified Verorab® vaccines that have been identified in the Philippines and reported to WHO. This vaccine is used for the prevention of rabies in children and adults. It can be used to protect those who are at risk of exposure to rabies (pre-exposure vaccination) or to prevent the development of rabies after exposure has occurred, usually following the bite of an animal suspected of having rabies (post-exposure prophylaxis). Its genuine version is manufactured by Sanofi Pasteur.
Rabies is a vaccine-preventable viral disease that is almost always fatal following the onset of clinical symptoms. Rabies is present on all continents, with over 95% of human deaths occurring in the Asia and Africa regions.