Rabies

Epidemiology

A very wide distribution


Rabies is widely distributed across the globe, with only a few countries (mainly islands and peninsulas) being free of the disease.

Many animal species are involved in the maintenance and transmission of the disease in nature. Fox rabies has been brought under control in Western Europe, but skunk, raccoon and fox rabies remain prevalent in parts of Canada and the United States.

Jackals, bat-eared foxes and mongoose are involved in rabies transmission in Africa, particularly in the south-eastern part of the continent. A variety of bat species have been shown to harbour rabies or rabies-related viruses in Africa, Australia, central and south-east Asia, Europe and most of the Americas.

Infected wildlife species, including bats, can transmit rabies to humans, but the total number of such cases remains limited compared with the annual number of human deaths caused by dog-transmitted rabies.

By contrast, canine rabies predominates in most of the developing countries of central and south America, Africa and Asia, where the greater burden of human rabies falls. More than 90% of cases of human rabies are transmitted by dogs; most deaths occur in Asia and Africa.

A WHO & BMGF JOINT PROJECT

Human rabies prevention through dog rabies elimination in selected developing countries. A Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation funded project coordinated by the WHO.

Rabnet

WHO has been collecting annual rabies data electronically through a standardized questionnaire of the rabies database system Rabnet.

Rabnet contact

rabnet@who.int

Mapping

Essential rabies maps