Dr Betsy Miranda has seen more than a hundred patients die from rabies during her time as a health worker in the Philippines.
While the disease is 100% fatal once it enters the central nervous system, it is also 100% preventable with a timely vaccination.
Rabies can be controlled and eliminated and some islands in the Philippines are very close to achieving this goal.
Dr Miranda and her colleagues are tackling rabies with a multi-pronged approach; including extensive dog vaccinations, education and providing timely vaccinations for bite victims.
“We bring together many sectors to achieve one goal - eliminating human and animal rabies, region by region, island by island by 2020,” she says.
Dr Miranda, who is part of the Global Alliance for Rabies Control, is one of many health heroes of Lifelines: The Quest for Global Health.
Lifelines: The Quest for Global Health will air on Al Jazeera in 2014.
Source: Al Jazeera