Chile Eliminates Dog-Transmitted Rabies After 54 Years Without a Human Case
Updated
Updated · abcnews.com · Sep 14
Chile Eliminates Dog-Transmitted Rabies After 54 Years Without a Human Case
3 articles · Updated · abcnews.com · Sep 14
Summary
WHO on Monday validated Chile as the first South American country to eliminate dog-transmitted rabies to humans, marking a regional public-health first.
1972 was the last reported dog-to-human rabies case in Chile, after which authorities sustained prevention and surveillance for more than five decades.
Door-to-door dog vaccination, pet campaigns, exposure vaccines and post-exposure treatment, plus dog-population control and community education, underpinned the result.
The milestone stands out even as human dog-transmitted rabies in the Americas has fallen more than 98% since 1983; WHO still estimates the virus kills nearly 60,000 people globally each year.