Bhutan Eliminates Dog-Transmitted Rabies as a Public Health Problem

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Key takeaways

Bhutan became the first nation in the WHO South-East Asia Region to eliminate dog-transmitted rabies, achieving zero human deaths since June 2023.
Rabies elimination status requires a country to report zero dog-mediated human deaths for at least 2 years while maintaining active surveillance.
Rabies is a viral zoonotic disease caused by the Lyssavirus that is almost 100% fatal once clinical symptoms develop.
Immediate post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), including washing wounds with soap for 15 minutes and receiving vaccinations, renders rabies entirely preventable.
The disease causes a major global financial impact, generating an estimated annual economic burden of US$ 8.6 billion.

Bhutan became the first country in the WHO South-East Asia Region to eliminate dog-mediated rabies as a public health issue.
The country maintained zero human rabies deaths since June 2023 by using a comprehensive One Health approach.
Experts supported by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) validated this success using 2018 WHO criteria.
To earn this official status, a nation must prevent human deaths from dog rabies for at least 2 years while running strong vaccination and surveillance programs.

The Lyssavirus genus causes rabies, which is a neurotropic virus that attacks the central nervous system and causes brain inflammation.
Rabies is a viral zoonotic infection and a neglected tropical disease (NTD) that is almost always fatal once symptoms start.
The virus spreads through saliva when infected animals bite or scratch humans, though human-to-human transmission remains extremely rare.
Proper post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) prevents death if given immediately after animal bites.
Effective treatment requires washing wounds with soap for 15 minutes, receiving a full vaccine course, and getting rabies immunoglobulin (RIG) for severe bites.
The virus usually takes 2 to 3 months to show symptoms, appearing as furious rabies with hydrophobia or paralytic rabies with muscle weakness.
India still suffers from a high number of rabies cases, while the global annual financial cost of the disease stands at US$ 8.6 billion.