Prof. Fooks has been involved in designing international outreach strategies for rabies and played an instrumental role in setting up rabies reference laboratories in China and India. He continues to actively engage in projects in Africa and Asia to help countries undertake rabies elimination in dogs, as part of a One Health program to improve preparedness and response to zoonotic emergencies.
He is a recognized expert in rabies and rabies-related viruses, well known for his scientific research focused on ‘One Health’. He has made a difference in a wide range of areas, including disease detection, surveillance, rabies epidemiology in Africa and developing rabies vaccines. He had advocated for a strategic shift towards vaccination of dogs to reduce the burden of the disease in humans. He also participated in efforts to improve access to safe and affordable rabies post-exposure treatment in developing countries.