Human rabies: 2016 updates and call for data

Overview

Rabies is an infectious viral disease that is almost always fatal following the onset of clinical signs. The virus claims an estimated 59 000 (95% confidence intervals (CI):25–159 000) human lives annually, mostly among underserved populations in Africa and Asia. Over 95% of rabies deaths in humans result from virus transmission through the bites of infected dogs.

Rabies is 100% preventable through timely administration of post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) to bite victims, however fatalities still occur in many endemic countries. The substantial human suffering and cost of providing PEP treatment could be avoided through elimination of the virus at source. Elimination is feasible through mass vaccination of domestic dog populations; this not only reduces the number of deaths attributable to rabies, but also the need for PEP as part of dog-bite patient care in the longer term. In this report, rabies refers specifically to human rabies transmitted by dogs, where not indicated otherwise.

In 2015, WHO Member States and key partners set a global goal to achieve zero human deaths from dog transmitted rabies by 2030. This surpassed the goals of the WHO roadmap on neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), which set regional elimination targets only. A comprehensive business plan that encompasses both human and animal perspectives for achieving this target by the year 2030 is in preparation.

This report updates the epidemiological information on dog-transmitted rabies, discusses the changing needs from surveillance when approaching elimination and data sources for rabies in animals; it outlines new sources and recent developments towards more complete rabies data and calls for active participation of countries in these processes.