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a result, cases in people fell from 258 to 13 by 2018, and cases in dogs fell from 11,276 to 163
during the same period. This progress was due to the implementation of regional canine
vaccination campaigns, greater public awareness of the issue, and the expansion and
availability of rabies treatment administered following a bite.

“There have been undeniable achievements in recent decades, particularly regarding the drastic
reduction in human deaths caused by the disease,” said PAHO Director, Carissa F. Etienne.

Rabies is a disease with important implications on public health, due to its mortality rate: there is

no cure. Globally, 60,000 people die from the disease each year, mostly in Asia and Africa.
However, the disease can be eliminated, particularly in urban areas where it is transmitted by
dogs and cats, through the implementation of preventative measures such as animal vaccine,
the availability of anti-rabies treatment for humans and the post-exposure vaccine, and by
stopping outbreaks, among other things.

The only way to interrupt rabies transmission is to vaccinate at least 80% of the canine
population in endemic areas. In the Region of the Americas, approximately 100 million dogs are
vaccinated each year. “If we want to reach the regional rabies elimination goal by 2022, we
must strengthen country-level rabies programs in order to improve surveillance and canine

vaccination coverage, particularly in high-risk areas,” said Ottorino Cosivi, Director of the
PAHO/WHO Pan American Foot-and-Mouth Disease and Veterinary Public Health Center
(Panaftosa).

In order to eliminate human rabies of canine origin, PAHO/WHO recommends ensuring timely
access to pre and post exposure prophylaxis to 100% of the population exposed to the virus.

Maintaining high epidemiological surveillance, raising awareness of rabies among the
community, and promoting actions to prevent reintroduction in countries where it has been
controlled, are also recommended.

World Rabies Day

World Rabies Day is celebrated annually on September 28. The day, which is organized by the
Global Alliance for Rabies Control (GARC) aims to raise awareness about prevention of this
disease, and highlight the progress made towards elimination. The 28th of September also
marks the anniversary of the death of Louis Pasteur, the French chemist and microbiologist,

who developed the first rabies vaccine.