español Alert and recommendations against Human Rabies in Arequipa, Peru

Abstract

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) (1) defines that, in the world, human rabies is responsible for thousands of human deaths a year, in most cases they are transmitted by dogs. In the last 35 years, cases of human and canine rabies have been reduced by more than 95% in Latin America and the Caribbean. In 2017, only 19 cases were registered in the region. Mexico was the first country in the world to receive validation from the World Health Organization WHO) for having successfully eliminated human rabies transmitted by dogs. There has also been a decrease in the number of human deaths with rabies in the United States, from more than 100 a year at the beginning of the 20th century. The purpose of writing this letter is to alert the population about a new case of human rabies in Arequipa Peru after 8 years.