• New bill seeks mandatory dog registration, vaccination, systematic population control
• Vets pledge elimination within five years; doctors question whether proposed system can sustain nationwide vaccination
• Rival accounts of the 2017–2018 handover expose deep divide over programme’s record
• More than 1.6 million dogs vaccinated in 2025, yet 14 laboratory-confirmed human deaths show work remains unfinished
• Calls to eliminate virus in dogs sharpen debate over spending on prevention and post-bite treatment
• WHO urges stronger cooperation as SL works towards zero human rabies deaths by 2030

Sri Lanka recorded 14 laboratory-confirmed human rabies deaths in 2025, according to the Ministry of Health’s Public Health Veterinary Services (PHVS).

Each of those deaths was preventable. Rabies is fatal once clinical symptoms appear, yet it can be stopped entirely if a bite is treated in time and the dogs that carry the virus are vaccinated.

Who should vaccinate those dogs is now a matter of divided opinion, following a bill presented to Parliament last month that would reshape how the country controls the disease.

Replacing two archaic laws

The Elimination of Rabies and Registration of Dogs Bill was presented to Parliament on 24 September by Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils, and Local Government Chandana Abayarathna. The bill has not yet been passed.

The bill sets out a framework for islandwide rabies vaccination, mandatory annual dog registration, and systematic dog population control, including the sterilisation of stray animals. It introduces licensing requirements for commercial dog breeding, restricts unauthorised sales, and provides for a national advisory committee on the eradication of rabies alongside regional advisory committees. Once enacted, it will repeal the Rabies Ordinance (Chapter 476) and the Dog Registration Ordinance (Chapter 477).

Sri Lanka Veterinary Association (SLVA) President-Elect Dr. Chamari Kannangara said that the laws being replaced had gone largely untouched for decades.

“Currently, in Sri Lanka, the laws regarding rabies are over 125 years old – specifically the Rabies Ordinance No.7 of 1893. There is also a separate law for registering dogs, which is the Registration of Dogs Ordinance No.25 of 1901. Both of these ordinances are over 125 years old and have remained without amendments for roughly 50 years,” she said.

According to Dr. Kannangara, reform began with a 2010 writ application in the Court of Appeal seeking an update of all animal-related legislation, after which the Government decided to consolidate the two ordinances into a single law.

The Clause 4 debate

The controversy centres on Clause 4, which restricts anti-rabies vaccination of animals to veterinary surgeons or those working under their direct supervision.

“Clause 4 of this new bill specifies that an anti-rabies vaccine can be administered to an animal or dog only by a veterinary surgeon or under the direct supervision of a veterinary surgeon. In the previous legislation, such a clause did not exist; consequently, the ongoing rabies control programme has been carried out by vaccinators under the Ministry of Health,” Dr. Kannangara said.

She rejected claims that veterinarians lacked the capacity to run the programme nationwide.

“If an animal is to receive medical treatment or vaccination, all technical knowledge resides with veterinarians. In any country across the world, this programme is never conducted without veterinarians. Moving forward, this entire programme will be executed under the direct supervision of veterinarians,” she said.

Seven decades of rabies control

Sri Lanka established a Veterinary Public Health Unit within the Ministry of Health in 1953 and launched a comprehensive rabies control programme with World Health Organization (WHO) support in 1975. The PHVS now leads the programme with the Epidemiology Unit, the Medical Research Institute, animal health services, and local authorities.

According to the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA), human rabies deaths fell from more than 300 a year in the 1970s to 14 last year. In 2025, nearly 168,000 people received Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP), more than 1.6 million dogs were vaccinated, and national dog vaccination coverage was estimated to exceed 60%, according to the PHVS.

The Epidemiology Unit, however, states that human rabies deaths have stagnated at approximately 25–30 a year over the last decade. The unit records roughly 250,000 animal bites a year and notes that more than 95% of human cases result from bites by unvaccinated dogs. The virus also persists among animals: 346 animal rabies cases were reported in 2025.

An independent external review commissioned by the Ministry of Health in September 2025, with WHO technical support, found that the country had built a strong foundation for elimination, but called for stronger animal rabies surveillance, higher dog vaccination coverage, and better coordination across sectors.

‘A beggar’s wound’

State Veterinary Surgeons’ Association (SVSA) President Dr. Upul Ranjith Kumara argued that Sri Lanka’s geography made elimination achievable and that the failure to achieve it was administrative.

“Sri Lanka is an island and rabies is a disease transmitted 99% through animal bites, saliva, or mucous membranes. Because of this, Sri Lanka has immense potential and capacity to eliminate the disease entirely,” he said.

He said the disease drained national funds and harmed tourism, as foreign visitors were routinely cautioned that the island remained rabies-endemic.

“Like a beggar’s wound that is kept from healing so it can be used repeatedly for profit, a group has emerged that depends on keeping this wound for its own survival. For nearly 50 years, the Ministry of Health has continuously run this programme, yet to date it has failed to achieve the elimination of rabies in this small island country,” he alleged.

The disputed transfer of 2017–2018

Both sides point to the same episode to make opposing arguments.

Dr. Kumara said that, following SVSA advocacy, the animal rabies control programme had been transferred to the Department of Animal Production and Health (DAPH) in 2017–2018, and veterinary teams had operated it for around five to six months after an initial delay he attributed to bureaucratic resistance. 

During that period, he said, 1.25 million dogs had been vaccinated, nearly 70,000 animals had been sterilised, and around 2,600 awareness programmes had been conducted.

“While a programme that was progressing so successfully was underway, the then Minister of Health mobilised intermediaries to abruptly snatch this programme back under the Ministry of Health. None of the vaccination or sterilisation figures we achieved during that period were even incorporated into the published data records of the Ministry of Health,” he said.

He also alleged that media coverage at the time had disproportionately magnified isolated rabies cases in an effort to discredit the veterinary administration.

The GMOA’s account differs sharply. In a statement, the association said that when the programme was transferred to the DAPH in 2017, vaccination coverage had fallen from more than 60% to just 6% within a year, and the Government had to return it to the Ministry of Health to avert a looming catastrophe. It added that both the WHO and the World Organisation for Animal Health had recommended the programme continue under the Ministry of Health.

The doctors’ warning

The GMOA said that vaccinations were currently administered by trained vaccinators under the direct supervision of Medical Officers of Health (MOH) and Public Health Inspectors across 362 MOH areas. It described the requirement for veterinary supervision as impractical, noting that the limited number of Government veterinary surgeons were primarily responsible for farm animals and the livestock sector.

“Technically, we have no objection to involving veterinarians and the livestock department for technical and specialist support. However, there is currently a shortage of Government veterinarians across Sri Lanka. Confining vaccination authority strictly to veterinarians without the required grassroots infrastructure risks causing coverage to collapse, just as it did in 2018 when a similar administrative transfer caused coverage to drop from near 60% down to 6%,” the GMOA Media Spokesperson Dr. Lasitha Kannangara said.

He said that the WHO recommended at least 70% vaccination coverage to eliminate human rabies deaths, a target that would allow Sri Lanka to meet its goal of zero deaths by 2030.

“Rabies is an incurable, fatal disease once contracted, making prevention the only viable defence. Therefore, we have submitted proposals to the Ministry of Health requesting that Clause 4 be amended to grant necessary authority to Medical Officers of Health and public health personnel. Furthermore, previous legal provisions empowering Police officers to remove or destroy dogs suspected of rabies must be maintained to ensure public safety,” he said.

Treating bites or ending the virus

Animal Welfare Coalition Executive Committee member and Association of Veterinarians for Humane Management of Animal Population Convenor, Veterinarian Dr. Chamith Nanayakkara questioned why a country that began its national programme in 1953 was still recording human deaths.

“If we remove the rabies virus from dogs, we can solve this problem. Otherwise, the virus will remain, dogs will continue to bite people, and we will continue giving injections to people after they are bitten,” he said.

Dr. Nanayakkara has previously claimed that nearly Rs. 1 billion in public funds is spent on post-exposure treatment, arguing that more should go towards vaccination, sterilisation, and dog population management. He said that veterinarians should lead on eliminating rabies among animals while medical professionals continued to prevent and treat human infections.

The Health Ministry’s programme, however, is not confined to treating bite victims. Official figures show that more than 1.28 million dogs were vaccinated and nearly 30,000 female dogs were sterilised under the national programme in 2024.

‘Stronger Together’

The WHO marked World Rabies Day 2026 under the theme ‘Stronger Together,’ stressing that the final stage of elimination would require closer coordination across sectors and communities.

“The theme of this year’s World Rabies Day, ‘Stronger Together,’ reflects Sri Lanka’s experience in advancing rabies prevention and control. The remarkable progress achieved over recent decades has been possible because health professionals, veterinarians, local authorities, policymakers, development partners, and communities have worked together towards a shared goal. Sustaining these partnerships will be essential to achieving zero human rabies deaths and creating a rabies-free future for all,” WHO Representative to Sri Lanka Dr. Rajesh Sambhajirao Pandav said.

For now, the two professions that run the programme remain divided over the bill meant to complete it. The SVSA has set itself a timeline.

“We state with full responsibility that we have the strength, the programme, the capacity, and the dedication to eliminate rabies from Sri Lanka within approximately five years. Do not obstruct this; do not hand it to us only to seize it back in five or six months. We will fulfil our duty with absolute commitment,” Dr. Kumara said.

The GMOA’s concern lies in the transition itself, and in what a fall in coverage could cost a country it says is already at the threshold of zero deaths.

Rabies: Why immediate action matters 

The Epidemiology Unit of the Ministry of Health emphasises that rabies is 100% fatal once clinical symptoms appear, but 100% preventable if the right action is taken in time, both before and immediately after an animal exposure.

How the virus spreads

Rabies is transmitted when an infected mammal bites, scratches, or licks broken skin, existing wounds, or mucous membranes around the eyes, lips, nose, or genitals. The virus does not travel through the bloodstream. It multiplies at the site of exposure, enters the nerve endings, and travels along the nerves to the central nervous system and the brain.

Why time matters

Treatment must begin before the virus enters the nerves. Bites and exposures to the face and neck are medical emergencies requiring care within hours; in such cases, even a delay of one to two hours can be too late. A wait-and-see approach should never be adopted.

Immediate first aid

The wound should be washed thoroughly with soap under running water for at least five minutes, then treated with 70% alcohol or povidone-iodine. Post-exposure treatment is available at designated Government hospitals, including the Rabies Treatment Unit at the National Hospital of Sri Lanka, and a course can be continued at any authorised hospital using the patient’s vaccination card.

Animals that can carry rabies

Dogs are the main source, followed by cats, but any mammal can transmit the virus. Documented carriers also include mongooses, jackals, giant squirrels, civets, wild cats, bandicoot rats, monkeys, and common squirrels. Any bite, scratch, or exposure from these animals requires a visit to a medical facility for post-exposure vaccination.