CHILE JUST GOT WHO VALIDATION FOR ELIMINATING DOG-TRANSMITTED RABIES.
Chile became the first South American country validated by WHO for eliminating dog-transmitted rabies as a public-health problem after more than five decades without a dog-mediated human case.
THINGS ACTUALLY IMPROVED
WHO validated Chile on September 14 as the first South American country to eliminate dog-transmitted rabies as a public-health problem. The last reported dog-mediated human case was in 1972.
WHAT HAPPENED
WHO validated Chile on September 14 as the first South American country to eliminate dog-transmitted rabies as a public-health problem. The last reported human case transmitted by a dog was in 1972.
The achievement rests on sustained dog vaccination, surveillance, laboratory capacity and timely post-exposure prophylaxis.
Rabies can still circulate in wildlife, so vaccination and prevention systems have to remain in place.
WHY THIS IS HOPESLOP
It is the unflashy version of progress: decades of vaccination, surveillance and public-health infrastructure making a once-deadly transmission route stop producing human cases.
ORIGINAL SOURCEWorld Health OrganizationRead the original report