Mark your calendars! The Texas DSHS Zoonosis Control Branch annual Rabies Awareness & Prevention Poster Contest is accepting submissions until April 8, 2022. Parents and teachers of children in grades K-12, this is a fun way for them to learn about the risks of rabies and much more.
Students will learn:
🦇The importance of rabies vaccinations for pets
🦇Respecting wildlife from a distance
🦇Notifying adults of exposure to an infected animal
A sample of a past submission
The Zach Jones Memorial Fund provides generous prizes for winners in each age group (K, 1-2, 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12). Deadline for poster submissions is April 8, 2022. Contest information and instructions for teachers, students and parents can be found on the DSHS Zoonosis Control website.
Rabies is a viral disease that kills over 59,000 people every year around the world. Fortunately, human deaths from rabies in the United States are very rare (approximately one to three deaths per year, almost exclusively due to rabies associated with bats). This is due to strict animal control laws, widespread pet vaccinations, and public health intervention in identified rabies-exposure cases. Rabies post-exposure prophylaxis is 100% effective when administered properly. However, the treatment is very expensive and requires multiple shots over a period of time.
Skunks and bats are the most commonly affected species in Texas. Private residences and school grounds are the most common locations in Texas for exposure to rabid bats. Bat bites are not always noticeable and many people are unaware that exposure to bats poses a risk. Most of these rabies exposures are preventable through education.
For the last twelve years, the TX Department of State Health Services Zoonosis Control Branch has facilitated an educational “Rabies Awareness & Prevention Poster Contest” for school kids. Students throughout Texas can participate by designing posters that promote rabies awareness and the respect of bats and other wildlife from a distance. Winners of the contest are awarded prizes provided by the Zach Jones Memorial Fund (ZJMF) www.zachjonesmemorial.org/. The fund was founded in remembrance of Zachary Ross Jones after he died of rabies at the age of sixteen. The ZJMF strives to raise funds in order to assist with educational awareness, early detection, and ultimately the cure for rabies.
Please help us spread the word about this fun, educational outreach project. Share this information with school administrators, teachers and nurses! The link to contest documents and winners can be found here
This poster was designed by a student almost a decade ago.
Rabies Awareness Full color poster 11 x 17 in PDF so you can print now.
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