Challenges and opportunities for the next miles in global rabies control.

Abstract

Since its creation in 1924, the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) has led animal rabies control efforts and is responsible for several of the most impactful advances in rabies diagnostics, surveillance and animal vaccination of the 20th and 21st centuries. Primarily advancing rabies control through its formalised country partnerships, WOAH is responsible for the validation and recognition of official rabies tests and has developed the largest rabies vaccine bank in use in Africa and Asia. WOAH has also fostered technical collaborations and provided modern-day guidance through the creation of the WOAH Rabies Reference Laboratory Network, also known as RABLAB. While rabies is among the deadliest of all zoonotic pathogens, future efforts to control and eliminate the virus hinge on improvements in coordination among partners, financial commitments from international organisations and governments, and advances in diagnostic and vaccination methods. WOAH has a long-standing history of driving these changes and is positioned to lead many new advances in the coming years.