More than three years without human deaths and sustained dog vaccination underpin milestone, WHO says
By Bunmi Yekini
The World Health Organization has validated Bhutan’s elimination of dog-transmitted rabies as a public health problem, making it the first country in the WHO South-East Asia Region to achieve the milestone.
The validation, announced on Sept. 4, follows Bhutan’s record of zero human deaths from dog-mediated rabies since June 2023 and more than a decade of investment in vaccination, surveillance and community-based prevention.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus congratulated Bhutan, saying the achievement demonstrated the importance of cooperation between human health, veterinary and other sectors.
Rabies is almost always fatal once clinical symptoms appear, but deaths can be prevented through vaccination of dogs and timely post-exposure treatment after a bite or scratch.
The treatment includes thorough wound washing, rabies vaccination and, where necessary, rabies immunoglobulin.
WHO said Bhutan’s progress was driven by a “One Health” approach that brought together health and veterinary authorities, local communities and national volunteers.
When suspected rabies cases are reported, human and animal health officials work together to identify people who may have been exposed and conduct investigations where necessary.
The validation followed a two-stage assessment by a regional review group convened by WHO with support from the World Organisation for Animal Health. The process included a review of Bhutan’s evidence and a field mission from Aug. 17 to 22, during which assessors visited health facilities, laboratories and the Bhutan-India border and reviewed programme records.
Bhutan plans to maintain free access to post-exposure treatment across all 20 districts, alongside mass dog vaccination, dog population management and integrated human-animal surveillance.
WHO said Bhutan would also strengthen cooperation with neighbouring Indian states to prevent the disease from returning.
The achievement contributes to a global target to end human deaths from dog-mediated rabies by 2030 under the “Zero by 30” strategy led by WHO, WOAH and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, with support from the Global Alliance for Rabies Control.
Rabies remains a major public health concern, with dog bites and scratches accounting for up to 99% of human rabies transmissions globally, according to WHO.