Researchers at Oxford University’s Jenner Institute have created a single-dose rabies jab that could fundamentally alter how this deadly yet preventable illness is tackled.

Called ChAdOx2 RabG, the inoculation underwent testing via a study in Tanzania. The findings show it delivers stronger and longer-lasting immunity for adults and children alike relative to existing vaccines.

The illness kills roughly 59,000 people each year, most of them in African and Asian countries, with youngsters at highest risk.

Present vaccination methods demand multiple clinic appointments, presenting major challenges for distributing these treatments in resource-poor areas.

Professor Sandy Douglas, a researcher at the Jenner Institute who designed the vaccine and led the trial, explained that despite being entirely preventable, rabies still claims tens of thousands of lives annually, especially among children.

He continued that his team’s work suggests a single-dose immunisation could offer an affordable and practical solution for protecting at-risk populations, particularly those in remote areas with minimal medical infrastructure.

The investigation involved 63 adults and 111 children aged between two and six. Subjects were given either the experimental vaccine or an approved rabies jab for comparison.

Twelve months after injection, adults who received the new vaccine showed antibody concentrations roughly five times higher than those produced by a single dose of current vaccines.

For the child participants, antibody levels surpassed those from existing vaccines by more than eight times.

The novel vaccine also performed better than the World Health Organization’s recommended two-dose schedule in young patients.

Almost every child given the experimental jab maintained protective antibody concentrations throughout the one-year monitoring period.

Dr Adam Ritchie, the study’s primary author and senior vaccinologist at the Jenner Institute, said that should these results be confirmed in larger investigations, the vaccine could completely transform rabies prevention efforts.

He added that while wealthy travellers can currently access vaccination while children in the same high-risk areas rarely can, this approach could make immunisation programmes more efficient, reduce costs, and ultimately save lives.

The inoculation also produced rapid immune responses, offering possibilities for its use as emergency treatment following potential exposure, though further research is necessary.

A follow-up study is set to begin later this year.

The disease usually spreads through bites from infected dogs.

Global strategies focus on vaccinating dogs and providing treatment to people after possible exposure.

However, the need for several vaccine doses complicates routine immunisation in areas with restricted healthcare systems.

Scientists expect that an affordable, single-dose option could make preventive vaccination more feasible in high-risk regions.

The clinical trial is ongoing, with participants expected to be tracked for up to five and a half years to assess how long protection endures.

Large-scale studies will be required before the vaccine can gain approval for wider use.

The full research appears in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.