En la ciudad de Arequipa, Perú, se han detectado perros con rabia desde marzo de 2015, señal de la reintroducción del virus de la rabia (VR) en esta zona previamente declarada libre de esta enfermedad. La alta densidad de perros vagabundos ha sido considerada una de las causas de la continua transmisión del VR en el brote de la ciudad de Arequipa, alentando el sacrificio de perros como medida de salud pública. Sin embargo, la efectividad de esta medida de control no ha sido evaluada. El objetivo de esta revisión fue determinar la efectividad del sacrificio de perros vagabundos como medida de control de la rabia urbana. Se realizó la búsqueda de artículos sobre control de rabia canina o urbana en las bases de datos de Medline, Scopus y LILACS. Se incluyeron estudios originales y revisiones que hayan evaluado algún efecto del sacrificio de perros en la transmisión del VR. Veinte de 21 artículos concluyen que el sacrificio de perros vagabundos es inefectivo en reducir la trasmisión del VR e, incluso, puede tener consecuencias imprevistas que empeoren el problema. En conclusión, la evidencia disponible indica que sacrificar perros vagabundos no es efectivo para controlar la rabia urbana. Además, las diversas consecuencias negativas del sacrificio de los perros vagabundos reportadas en otras partes del mundo sugieren que el sistema de rabia urbana es altamente complejo y todos sus componentes deben ser tomados en cuenta durante la implementación de actividades de control.

In the Peruvian city of Arequipa, rabid dogs have been detected since March 2015, signaling the reintroduction of the rabies virus (RV) in this previously officially-declared rabies free zone. High dog density is considered one of the causes for the continuous transmission of the RV in the outbreak in the city of Arequipa, which seemingly lends support to the culling of dogs as a public health measure. However, the effectiveness of culling free-roaming dogs to control urban rabies has not been evaluated. Objective to determine the effectiveness of free-roaming dog culling as a control measure of urban rabies. Source of data: We searched for articles on dog rabies control or urban rabies control in the databases of PubMed, Scopus and LILACS. The characteristics and results of the documents obtained were recorded. Eligibility criteria: We included original studies and reviews that have evaluated an effect of culling dogs in the transmission of RV. Data collection and evaluation: One of the authors (RCN) screened the articles found in the search based on their titles and abstracts. The data and results of the articles selected for full reading were evaluated by at least two authors. Results: 21 articles were eligible for full reading. 20 of 21 articles conclude that free-roaming dog culling is ineffective in reducing the transmission of RV and may even have unintended consequences that worsen the problem. We believe that the available evidence indicates that the sacrifice of free-roaming dogs is not effective to control urban rabies. In addition, the various negative consequences of free-roaming dog culling reported in other parts of the world suggest that the system of urban rabies is highly complex and all its components must be taken into account during the implementation of control activities.