New global strategic plan to eliminate dog-mediated rabies by 2030

Rabies is one of the oldest and most terrifying diseases known to man. Written and pictorial records of rabies date back more than 4000 years, and today it is endemic in more than 150 countries around the world.1 Even though the disease can be prevented, it kills an estimated 59 000 people each year,2 mostly in the world's poorest and most vulnerable communities. About 40% of the victims are children younger than 15 years living in Asia and Africa. A staggering 99% of human cases are acquired via the bite of an infected dog, rather than through exposures to the many and varied wild animals that act as viral reservoirs on different continents.