No abstract

Objective: Rabies is a dangerous zoonotic infectious disease. Dog bites cause 99% of all human deaths from rabies. In Europe and North America, however, with the successful control of rabies in dogs, the wild cycle of rabies is the major and dominant cycle of disease. According to the WHO classification, the Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office (EMRO) countries are divided into population health laws, health system performance, and health spending levels. This review aimed to evaluate the epidemiology of rabies in the EMRO countries in these three categories. Methods: In this study, using some search engines (PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar) were searched about the frequency of rabies in EMRO countries without considering the time and related content. Results: In some parts of the world, including most countries in the region, EMRO, rabies is endemic and a serious problem for human and animal health. Conclusions: According to the global strategic plan to end human deaths from rabies by 2030, all the countries in the EMRO region and the international organizations such as WHO, OIE, etc., must take the necessary measures to control this disease. Regional and global cooperation, and comprehensive and effective policies, are required to solve this issue. Keywords: rabies; surveillance; epidemiology.