Neglected challenges in the control of animal rabies in China

Complex rabies transmission dynamics, including in dogs, wildlife livestock, and human-acquired rabies, can be observed in China. A temporary decrease in human rabies deaths with a simultaneous increase in animal rabies transmission is a typical example of “sectoral management separation” but not of the recommended “one-health” concept. In contrast to reliance on mass dog vaccination, reliance on postexposure prophylaxis to reduce human rabies burden is costly and ineffective in the prevention of rabies transmission from dogs to humans and other susceptible animal species. To answer the WHO call for the “elimination of dog-mediated human rabies by 2030,” China faces the challenge of a lack of a strong political commitment and a workable plan and must act now before the rabies transmission dynamics become increasingly complicated by spreading to other species, such as ferret badgers in the Southeast and raccoon dogs and foxes in the North.