Chile Reaches Major Milestone in Fight Against Rabies

Chile has become the first country in South America to receive World Health Organization validation for eliminating dog-transmitted rabies as a public health problem.

The recognition follows more than five decades without a reported human case of rabies transmitted by dogs. Chile’s last known case occurred in 1972.

The achievement is the result of sustained prevention and surveillance efforts, including widespread vaccination of dogs and cats, monitoring of rabies in animals, laboratory testing and rapid access to post-exposure treatment for people who may have been exposed.

Chile also carried out door-to-door dog vaccination campaigns, introduced measures to manage dog populations and expanded public education about rabies prevention.

To receive WHO validation, Chile had to demonstrate not only that dog-transmitted human rabies had remained absent, but also that it had strong systems capable of detecting and responding to any possible return of the disease.

The country’s technical evidence was reviewed by an independent international group of experts convened through the Pan American Health Organization and WHO, which confirmed that Chile met the required criteria.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the achievement reflected decades of investment in public health and offered lessons for other countries seeking to prevent rabies deaths.

Rabies remains a serious global health threat. Once clinical symptoms appear, the disease is almost always fatal, but human deaths can be prevented through vaccination, effective surveillance and timely post-exposure treatment.

The progress in Chile also reflects wider regional efforts. Human cases of dog-transmitted rabies in the Americas have fallen by more than 98% since 1983, according to WHO and the Pan American Health Organization.

Despite that progress, dog-transmitted rabies continues to cause tens of thousands of deaths worldwide each year, particularly in Asia and Africa. Chile’s milestone highlights how long-term vaccination, surveillance and cooperation between health authorities, communities and animal-health services can help prevent the disease from returning.