One of the most important challenges is to reverse the cycle of neglect, which has created a low priority to rabies and its control in many poorly resourced countries. Global advocacy and enhanced awareness of the disease burden among national and international policy makers are essential to improve rabies prevention and control activities. Data on disability-adjusted life year (DALY) scores and economic burden models are required to compare a given condition in relation to other public health issues, although these elements are not the only criteria on which priorities are defined. Evidence-based estimates of the burden of rabies have been developed for Africa and Asia, as well as specific countries, such as Tanzania and Cambodia [18, 75, 76] , which indicate that canine rabies impacts human and animal health substantially, as well as local and national economies and wildlife conservation [29] . The global burden of rabies, including a more accurate evaluation of the global cost of postexposure prophylaxis as well as mass dog vaccination strategies, needs to be further documented and brought into the spotlight, particularly to the attention of national policy makers in rabies-affected countries and to the international health community. Therefore, there is an urgent need to gain a better sense of the burden of animal and human rabies in any given country. Given that poor surveillance and underreporting have dramatically contributed to a lack of data on disease impacts [77] , a focus on strengthening national capacity to better diagnose rabies and investigate human cases and animal outbreaks is essential for effective disease surveillance and a more accurate burden assessment.