About this Episode
The World Health Organization has validated Bhutan for eliminating dog-transmitted human rabies as a public-health problem, making it the first country in the WHO South-East Asia Region to achieve the milestone. Rabies is almost always fatal once symptoms appear, while dogs are responsible for around 99% of human cases.
Bhutan’s success followed more than a decade of mass dog vaccination, population management, disease surveillance and access to post-exposure treatment. Health and agriculture authorities worked with veterinary professionals, local communities and the De-suung volunteer service.
WHO validation requires at least two years without human deaths from dog-transmitted rabies, as well as systems capable of preventing the disease from returning. WHO aims to end human deaths from dog-transmitted rabies worldwide by 2030.
