Table 2.

Main assumptions that inform our estimates.

Assumption	Rationale
70% of the dog population has to be vaccinated annually for 5–7 years to eliminate dog rabies	WHO recommendation; research suggests 70% threshold (7, 13, 14). Caveat: possibly varies by setting (55)
Dog vaccination coverage estimated by Hampson et al. (4) is reasonably accurate	Refereed review; provides country-specific estimates
Regional human-to-dog ratios estimated by Knobel et al. (6) are representative of countries in each region	We crossed-checked using human-to-dog ratio estimated from Davlin and VonVille (29) and found a ~3% aggregate difference
Countries where rabies has been eliminated from specific regions within the country (e.g., Brazil) still require national vaccination coverage	Our aim is not to explore detailed trends at the subnational level but to illustrate global trends
The time frames presented in the GDREP accurately reflect a country’s progression toward elimination	However, we recognize that between and within country capabilities and willingness to conduct dog rabies elimination campaigns using vaccines will, in reality, vary
All countries commit to dog rabies elimination at year 1 of GDREP and move through the phases as predicted	While this assumption is unlikely to reflect reality, this analysis and supplementary table can be used to forecast needs on a country-specific level
After 7 years of vaccination of 70% of dog population, we consider the country rabies free and do not longer estimate dog vaccination maintenance costs	Countries completing the GDREP will likely continue to fund rabies prevention programs and maintain some level of dog rabies vaccination. However, these activities are no longer for the purpose of elimination, rather they are for the purpose of preventing re-incursion of the virus. Therefore, these costs are not considered
Vaccination capacity: all public health veterinary work force would be willing/able to do dog vaccinations, and veterinary workers can move within countries at ease. We assume the workforce reported by OIE (40) is reasonably accurate	Larger cities may have an unequal distribution of vaccination capacity. This is not accounted for under the vaccinator capacity assessment

WHO, World Health Organization; OIE, World Organization for Animal Health; GDREP, Global Dog Rabies Elimination Pathway.