Global Dog and Human Rabies Control Efforts from Ancient Times to 2030 and Beyond

Nowadays, rabies is mainly present in Africa and Asia, where every year it causes an estimated 59,000 human deaths and costs US$8.6 billion. A key date in the history of rabies control is 6 July 1885, when the first dose of rabies vaccine was successfully inoculated to an exposed individual in Paris. Yet, long before and after this event, many attempts at stopping rabies transmission, managing dog bites and preventing rabies symptoms have occurred throughout the world. Each step forwards – and backwards too – has been crucial to advance the scientific knowledge of rabies and how to control this disease at the interface of challenges of ecological, political and social nature. As the world starts to recover from the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and move towards the 2030 goal of eliminating dog-mediated human rabies, learning from the past is vital for achieving a world with reduced rabies risk.