Vietnam targets rabies at its source with mandatory dog, cat registration

For more than a decade, rabies has remained a persistent public health threat in Vietnam.

Even with the full availability of vaccines and post-exposure prophylaxis, human deaths continue to occur.

In the first ten months of 2025, Vietnam recorded 67 rabies-related fatalities, only slightly below the 77 deaths during the same period in 2024. 

The Central Highlands remains the region with the highest number of cases.

The trend has grown more concerning.

In 2023, Vietnam documented 82 rabies deaths nationwide, an increase of 17 percent from the previous year.

The economic toll is significant as well. 

Rabies causes an estimated VND1 trillion (US$38 million) in losses each year in vaccine and serum costs alone, exclusive of medical expenses and lost income.

In southern Vietnam, the Ho Chi Minh City Center for Disease Control reported that in 2024 the city logged an average of about 10,000 people seeking rabies vaccination each month after being bitten by animals. 

Dogs constituted nearly 75 percent of the reported exposures, followed by cats at just 20.5 percent, bats at 0.2 percent, and other animals making up the remainder.

A particularly sharp rise has appeared in the former Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, now part of Ho Chi Minh City's expanded administrative region. 

The number of residents seeking treatment after potential exposure climbed from 2,163 in 2022 to nearly 6,000 in 2023, more than 12,800 in 2024, and 14,389 in the first ten months of 2025. 

Six deaths have been recorded there over the past three years.

Health and veterinary experts say the primary problem remains weak control of dog and cat populations.

Pham Thanh Long of the Department of Livestock Production and Animal Health said vaccination rates among pets are still too low.

Nationwide, only about 56 percent of an estimated seven million dogs and cats have received rabies shots from 2024 to 2025. 

That figure is an improvement, but still below the 70-percent threshold needed to sharply cut human transmission.

To address this gap, Ho Chi Minh City has rolled out a rabies prevention and control program for the period from 2026 to 2030.

As per the plan, all dog and cat owners must register their animals with ward and commune authorities.

Owners must keep pets inside their homes, maintain sanitation, and prevent environmental contamination.

When taken outdoors, dogs must be on a leash, wear a muzzle, and be handled by their owners.

Pets are also required to receive rabies vaccinations. 

Any animal showing unusual behavior must be isolated and immediately reported to local authorities or veterinary stations.

Violations, including failure to vaccinate, allowing dogs to roam, not using leashes or muzzles in public, and allowing pets to foul public areas, will result in penalties.

Following the city's recent administrative expansion, Ho Chi Minh City now has about 172,000 pet-owning households with more than 310,000 dogs and cats.

The city aims to establish rabies safe zones and eliminate human rabies deaths by 2030.

Experts say cost remains a major barrier. 

A single rabies vaccine dose can cost several hundred thousand Vietnamese dong (VND100,000 = US$3.8), an expense that discourages low-income families with multiple pets.

Vo Hai Son, deputy head of the Department of Preventive Medicine under the Ministry of Health, urged local authorities to allocate funding for subsidized or free vaccination in high-risk areas.

Mgaywa Magafu, a World Health Organization public health specialist in Vietnam, said rabies remains one of the most lethal infectious diseases globally, yet it is entirely preventable with timely vaccination and heightened public awareness.