Chile is now the inaugural South American country awarded WHO validation for having eradicated dog-borne rabies as a public-health issue nationwide through its program.
Decades of effort
The acknowledgment shows Chile’s remarkable achievement of over 50 years without a single human rabies case, solidifying its ability to prevent the disease’s resurgence.
The last recorded instance of human rabies in Chile, transmitted by dogs, dates back to 1972. This milestone was reached through consistent nationwide efforts to combat rabies by promptly vaccinating individuals potentially exposed to the virus, often due to bites, scratches, or contact with infected dogs’ saliva.
These initiatives were further supported by full door-to-door dog vaccination drives, strategic dog population control measures, and community-focused awareness and education programs.
Systemic prevention
Since then, Chile has maintained its National Rabies Prevention and Control Programme, which includes free mass vaccination campaigns for dogs and cats, epidemiological surveillance, strengthened laboratory diagnostic capacity, monitoring of rabies virus circulation in animals, and timely access to post-exposure prophylaxis.
In recent times, Chile has bolstered its risk assessment capabilities, broadened community-based surveillance, and introduced preventive vaccination initiatives in border regions deemed at higher risk of rabies re-emergence.
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To achieve WHO validation, Chile had to demonstrate not only the sustained absence of human rabies transmitted by dogs, but also that it maintains robust surveillance, laboratory, vaccination, and response systems capable of preventing the disease from re-emerging.
The technical dossier submitted by the Chilean government underwent scrutiny by an independent international expert panel convened by PANAFTOSA/PAHO/WHO, which verified the country’s fulfillment of internationally recognized criteria.
Regional cooperation
Chile’s validation is a sign of the decades-long collaborative efforts across the Americas, positioning the region as a global frontrunner in eradicating dog-transmitted rabies. Since 1983, human cases of dog-mediated rabies in the region have plummeted by over 98%, with only a few cases reported annually.
This progress contributes to the wider regional goal of eliminating dog-transmitted human rabies as part of PAHO’s Disease Elimination Initiative, which aims to eliminate more than 30 communicable diseases and related conditions in the Americas by 2030.
The work required to certify this elimination relies on the One Health approach, with human, animal and environmental health sectors working together to prevent and control diseases that spread between animals and people.
