Rabies occurs across Africa, the Americas, Australia, and eastern Europe and Asia, from polar regions to temperate latitudes, and is endemic within tropical areas. Recognized etiological agents consist of an expanding range of species (previously genotypes) of negative-strand RNA viruses of the Lyssavirus genus [11] . Although susceptible natural hosts include all mammals, this zoonosis is perpetuated by domestic and wild carnivores, and by many species of bats, which all act as reservoirs for the eleven proposed Lyssavirus species and for emerging variants within species [12] . Humans are infected after being exposed to virus laden saliva or tissue from a rabid animal, usually through bites into open wounds or contamination of mucous membranes. There is no treatment and rabies almost always leads to death after the onset of clinical symptoms. A plethora of viral species and variants maintained by a diversity of hosts with potential for cross-species and cross-order transfers pose a formidable challenge to a strict concept of true disease eradication [13] . However, in any one geographic area, rabies virus (genotype/serotype/species 1), which is responsible for classical rabies and the most important cause of human cases, is typically maintained within a single terrestrial animal reservoir. Elimination of rabies virus variants is, therefore, a more realistic prospect.