Chile Wins WHO Validation for Ending Dog Rabies
Chile has reached a health milestone that took more than half a century of steady work. The World Health Organization has validated the country for eliminating dog-transmitted rabies as a public health problem. Chile is the first country in South America to receive this recognition.
The last reported human case of rabies passed from a dog in Chile was in 1972. Keeping it that way took a lot of effort. Chile ran door-to-door dog vaccination campaigns, managed dog populations, taught communities about the disease, and made sure people who might have been exposed could quickly get the vaccine.
Today the country runs a national rabies programme that includes free mass vaccination of dogs and cats, disease tracking, lab testing and monitoring of the virus in animals. In recent years it has also added extra vaccination in border areas where the risk of rabies returning is higher.
To earn validation, Chile sent a detailed technical file to WHO. An independent group of international experts reviewed it and confirmed that the country met the agreed standards, including strong systems to stop the disease from coming back.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called it a historic achievement. PAHO Director Jarbas Barbosa said it shows that ending dog-transmitted rabies is possible and lasting when health, animal and community sectors work together.
The wider region is also doing well. Since 1983, human cases of dog-transmitted rabies in the Americas have dropped by more than 98%. This is Chile's second big win this year, after WHO verified it in March for eliminating leprosy as a public health problem.
