**1. Introduction**

Rabies Virus is an acute, progressive, and fatal anthropozoonotic infection of the central nervous system belonging to the genus lyssavirus and family Rhabdoviridae that causes rabies [1]. History of rabies date back to work done by various contributors, such as Democritus (460–370 BC), Aristotle (384–322 BC), Pliny the Elder (23–79 AD), Galen (130–200 AD), Celsus (25 BC–50 AD), Rufus of Ephesus (80–150 AD), Oribasius (320–400 AD), and Aetius of Amida (502–575 AD) [2]. Records obtained from ancient Mesopotamian civilization approximately 4,000 years old associate rabies to bites by a mad or vicious dog [3, 4]. In the 16th century, Girolamo Fracastoro reported that when an animal bites and break into the skin it introduces the rabies virus [5]. In 1885, Louis Pasteur developed the first successful rabies vaccine [6]. Yet, rabies remains a threat to both humans and dogs in the 21st century [7, 8].

Rabies had been in Sierra Leone since antiquity but was isolated from the brain of the rabid dog at the Teko Central Veterinary Laboratory in Makeni, northern Sierra Leone in 1949 [9]. Rabies also existed in Kenema, Blama, and other parts of the country later found to be endemic with the virus.

Lack of veterinary staff prevented the government from developing policies on dog ownership and management, undertaking large-scale research and awarenessraising on rabies [10] resulting in dogs receiving limited attention from their owners. Some could not feed their dogs, provide treatment nor pay for a rabies vaccine. With this obvious gap, rabies continues to take its toll on both humans and dogs. To combat this menace, the government focused on vaccinating dogs in major cities and outbreak communities providing high-cost rabies vaccines for affluent dog owners, while leaving dogs from low-income earners and the public unvaccinated. Liberia and other parts of sub-Saharan AFRICA reported a similar situation [11].

The death of thirteen people from 1968 to 1973 warranted government to vaccinate 4700 dogs in 1974 [12] which in turn gave prominence to control of rabies through a national vaccination of dogs which was short-lived due to the hosting of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) conference in the 1980s. The Government diverted meager resources to the hosting leaving most government departments unable to discharge their normal duties and service. Funding allocations to government departments dwindled and development in the veterinary sector diminished hence the inability to provide basic veterinary infrastructure and vaccination exercise for dogs and cats. No doubt, the difficulties, and hardship after the hosting of the OAU conference followed by political injustices brought resentment to governmental policies among the population.

Animal welfare occupied a lower primordial position on the list of national priority and family. This is also true across Africa where there is a lack of coordination and collaboration regarding dog ownership management, rabies control, and elimination activities, both within and across countries [12]. Most homes could no longer afford three meals a day and dogs have to cater for their daily survival. People focus their energies on their survival rather than dogs (Suluku et al. 2007). Dogs migrate with their owners during the war, which led to an increase in dog population in the capital city of Freetown and other district headquarter towns [13].

The bloody civil war (1991–2002) which brought untold suffering on the people of Sierra Leone was advantageous to dogs with many migrating to major cities and towns. The migration led to the increased urban population, congestion, and uncoordinated waste disposal in the city, the district headquarters towns, and refugee camps. In neighboring Liberia, the Lancet report 2014 reported a similar situation with a lack of electricity supply in large areas of the country especially after the rebel war from 1989 to 2003 and the devastating Ebola outbreak in 2014–2015. After the war, the crime rate increased and the need for dogs as guard dogs becomes inevitable for most people and families. Stray dogs do find food in garbage dumpsites, which enhanced survival and increased dog population, with a corresponding increase in dog bite cases. There is also no organized network of rabies actors to combat the escalating rabies cases in the country and at the regional level. However, some Africa regional groups such as Pan-African Rabies Control Network (PARACON) were established in 2015 to provide a forum to share information and provide available tools and knowledge to eliminate dog-mediated human rabies in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2030 [14].
