Public health experts warn that India may face difficulties in achieving its goal of eliminating rabies by 2030, despite Chile and Bhutan recently demonstrating the ability to eliminate the threat of dog-transmitted rabies.
The main obstacles for India are cited as the significant burden from dog bites, uneven implementation of dog vaccination and population management programs, and gaps in surveillance systems.
Bhutan became the first country in the WHO South-East Asia Region to receive such confirmation this month after more than fifty years without cases of human transmission of rabies from dogs.