Introduction {#sec1}
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Rabies is a zoonotic disease caused by the rabies virus, which belongs to the family Rhabdoviridae and genus *Lyssavirus*. Rabies is estimated to be responsible for approximately 60 000 human deaths annually in more than 150 countries and territories. Approximately 95% of rabies deaths occur in Asia and Africa. China has the second highest number of human rabies deaths, following India \[[@ref1]\]. Since the 1950s, three prevalence peaks of human rabies occurred in China. The first prevalence peak appeared in the middle of 1950s, with 1942 deaths due to rabies recorded in 1957. The second prevalence peak occurred in the early 1980s, and 7037 human rabies cases were reported in 1981. The third prevalence peak appeared during the early 21st century, and approximately 3300 cases were reported inwhich was much lower than the PEP vaccination rate in the exposed population. It meant the low PEP vaccination rate among human rabies cases has, in a large part, led to the tragic outcomes of rabies.

The PEP vaccination rate in different areas, not only at the geographical level but also at the administrative level, differed greatly. The PEP vaccination rate in the western region was substantially lower than that in the eastern region. In mainland China, the economy of the western region is less developed than the eastern region. This result suggested that economy and geographical location were closely related to PEP vaccination rates of rabies. Moreover, limited transportation infrastructure in the western and central areas, coupled with inadequate health resources, made it difficult for people to seek