The Blueprint for Rabies Prevention and Control: A Novel Operational Toolkit for Rabies Elimination

Abstract

Rabies is a prime example of a neglected tropical disease that mostly affects communities suffering from inequitable health care [1]. The false perception that rabies impacts on society are low is due to case under-reporting and limited awareness of the disease burden [2], [3]. Effective tools for elimination of terrestrial rabies are available [4]. While the sustained deployment of these tools has led to some remarkably successful interventions [5], [6], canine rabies continues to claim lives in rabies-endemic countries and areas of re-emergence, where >95% of human deaths occur as a result of bites by rabid domestic dogs [7], [8]. Control programs targeting dogs can effectively reduce the risk of rabies to humans [3], [9]. However, the design and implementation of such programs still pose considerable challenges to local governments, and a lack of easy-to-use guidelines has been identified as an important reason for this. Global rabies experts from the Partners for Rabies Prevention have therefore gathered to translate evidence-based knowledge on rabies control into user-friendly guidelines. Existing information obtained from different sources, including previously published guidelines by international health and animal welfare organizations and scientific findings, has been packaged into a novel online document, the Blueprint for Rabies Prevention and Control (http://www.rabiesblueprint.com), which we describe herewith.