India, Sept. 7 -- The World Health Organization (WHO) has validated Bhutan's elimination of dog-transmitted rabies as a public health problem, making it the first country in the WHO South-East Asia Region to achieve the milestone.

Rabies is a viral disease that is almost always fatal once clinical symptoms appear. However, deaths from rabies are preventable.

PEP includes thorough wound washing, a course of human rabies vaccine and, when indicated, an injection of rabies immunoglobulin (RIG).

"I congratulate Bhutan on this historic achievement, which is another step towards our goal to end human deaths from dog-transmitted rabies by 2030," said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.

"Bhutan's success shows that the health...