Student blog: Hamish Mellanby

Can you describe what a typical day looked like during the vaccination campaign?

A typical day was full on, starting at 5.30 am for breakfast at 6, followed by a swift departure at 6.30 to reach our designated hubs spread across the outer areas of Phnom Penh. It would typically take roughly an hour to reach our allocated vaccination zone. Everyone was paired with a tuk-tuk driver and a local veterinary student. Although the language barrier made communication a challenge, I managed to pick up on a surprising amount of Khmer, learning to ask people if they had dogs, how many they had and whether they were male or female. While this doesn’t help very much in the typical tourist conversation, it was still great fun to learn.

To reach the 70% coverage goal required for herd immunity, thoroughness was essential. Every dog encountered had to be logged on an app designed by the tech team, even if, for any reason, we couldn’t vaccinate them. This was crucial for tracking coverage and understanding dog populations across the many zones of the city.

We would take about a 45-minute lunch break before cracking on again until 4 pm. I wasn’t brave enough to try the street food, but my student counterpart and driver always had what looked delicious! The most challenging day was the “Dragon Challenge”, set by Luke Gamble, the CEO of WVS, to vaccinate 10,000 dogs in a single day. It was an enormous task, but the energy and enthusiasm across the teams was incredible, and by the end of the day, we had vaccinated 10,300 dogs, an amazing testament to teamwork and dedication.

At the end of each day, everyone would share their favourite moments, which there were plenty of. I, however, almost always ended up passing out from exhaustion on the bus journey back to the hotel, catching up with my fellow volunteers over dinner. A standout feature of the trip was the rooftop bar and pool at the hotel, offering an incredible view of the city. Most of the evening socialising took place there. I ended up doing more evening socialising than I usually do at university, which was a real surprise to me, but it was easy when surrounded by such a welcoming and friendly crowd. I really cherished those evenings and still look back on them fondly. It was amazing to hear that my dad was so fondly remembered by the team, with everyone excited that his son had joined a campaign. I hope that the future holds more opportunities to work alongside these incredible people.

The days were long and physically demanding, but incredibly rewarding. Witnessing community engagement firsthand made the work even more meaningful and has inspired me to pursue a career dedicated to global disease prevention.

What motivated you to volunteer your time for this cause? 

My motivation to volunteer stemmed from a couple of outlooks. Rabies is responsible for roughly 59,000 deaths per year, with almost no chance of survival once symptoms show; it is one of the deadliest infectious diseases. What struck me even more than this, however, is that its 100% preventable. Over 99% of cases stem from canine transmission, yet mass dog vaccination remains inaccessible in many parts of the world.

The One Health approach that Mission Rabies uses addresses the root cause of the problem. By focusing on mass vaccination, community education, and surveillance, they work to eliminate rabies entirely, rather than purely responding to its consequences. This preventative strategy really resonated with me and reinforced the importance of tackling disease at its source.

Although the severity of the disease drew me to the cause, I was especially motivated by how much the Mission Rabies team had already influenced me. Through learning about their work, they sparked my interest in public health and epidemiology and helped shape the direction of my academic studies. Volunteering with them felt like a full-circle moment, a chance to gain hands-on experience while giving back to a team that first inspired my passion for infectious disease.

What do you wish more people understood about rabies transmission and prevention?

I really want to hammer home that rabies is completely preventable, but almost always fatal once symptoms appear. That is really what makes the disease so tragic.

One statistic that really struck me during my time in Cambodia is that it is 50 times more expensive to vaccinate a human than it is a dog. This highlights just how effective and efficient these campaigns are, not only saving dog and human populations but also reducing the economic burden on healthcare systems.

This is why investing in proactive, upstream interventions is one of the most powerful tools in disease prevention, and the fact that rabies continues to claim lives shows how important it is to support and expand these campaigns.

Do you feel this volunteering trip has helped with your studies and future career? If so, how?  

Absolutely. Studying infectious diseases gave me the theory, but this experience allowed me to link these principles to real-world settings. Concepts like herd immunity, surveillance and virology became tangible, rather than abstract points on a PowerPoint slide.

I also gained an introduction to data analysis, with the team kindly educating me on how they utilise the data collected to improve campaign coverage. This software went on to be a focal point of my studies that year and highlighted the role of data in public health.

Ultimately, this experience solidified my desire to pursue a career where science is used to support meaningful disease prevention on a global scale.

How has this experience shaped your perspective on infectious disease control? 

This trip really emphasised that infectious disease control is a highly multidisciplinary field. It’s not only driven by lab science or vaccines, but relies heavily on data systems, innovative technology, logistics, health communication, and local partnerships. It’s about the systems that support the science.

Seeing all these components come together gave me a deep appreciation for the humanity behind disease elimination efforts. Without strong community engagement, none of this would be possible. I didn’t fully appreciate the human side behind these campaigns; their success relies on people working together toward a shared goal.

What advice would you give to others who are thinking of volunteering? 

I would absolutely encourage it to anyone; you don’t need to be a professional to make a difference (I certainly wasn’t), although being fond of dogs definitely helps. The places you visit and the people you meet are unlike anything you’d experience as a tourist. You see communities in a much more real and raw way, and you leave feeling genuinely connected to the work you’ve done and the people you’ve met.

To students especially, I'd say, if you get the opportunity, take it. This experience provided me with insight and hands-on experience that you simply can’t gain sitting in a lab or behind a computer. Being part of the Mission Rabies team, just for a week, was an incredibly rewarding and challenging experience, and a brilliant opportunity to apply scientific interests to a meaningful global issue.

Volunteering also helped me in so many other ways. It pushed me outside my comfort zone, building my confidence, adaptability and appreciation for other cultures. It also helped me become familiar with data analysis, which, whilst it sounds boring on paper, I promise you it isn’t when you see how that data helps guide decisions that ultimately save lives.