A debate on elimination of dog-mediated human rabies in developing countries by 2030

Rabies is a vaccine-preventable viral disease that affects over 150 countries and territories worldwide. This neglected disease is almost always fatal once clinical signs manifest and is thus responsible for approximately 59,000 annual deaths. Due to globalization, rabies continues to be seen as a disease of developing countries and more emphasis, both nationally and internationally, is put on fighting infectious diseases that also affect economically developed countries. Even though the elimination of dog-mediated rabies in Europe and North America has proved the possibility of its eradication, rabies is still a persistent public health concern in low- and middle-income countries. It is believed that the interplay of sustainable investment strategies and rabies education, through developed countries, could positively affect the cooperation of culturally diverse regions and could help garner coordinated action from different areas affected by dog-mediated rabies. Breaking the rabies transmission cycle requires a comprehensive approach that includes increased vaccination efforts, improved surveillance and control of wildlife populations, and public education and awareness. More global effort must be put into these efforts to effectively combat the spread of rabies and protect public health. We herein examine various strategies and innovative financing methods for eliminating dog-mediated human rabies from the developing world to achieve the World Health Organization’s (WHO) goal of zero rabies deaths by 2030.