Rabies

Vaccinated pets are highly protected against rabies, but no vaccine is perfect. Expert explains when risks are rare and why boosters still matter

A suspected rabies case in a buffalo sent panic through a UP village, with hundreds rushing for vaccines after learning funeral raita was made from its milk. But was the fear justified?

Indian Immunologicals Limited said the issue flagged by Australian authorities relates to a single counterfeit batch identified earlier and does not warrant a blanket warning against the vaccine

Days after Australia issued an advisory against counterfeit rabies vaccine in India, a public sector manufacturer of the vaccine 'Abhayrab' clarified that the concern revolves around a specific batch identified in January 2025, and did not merit a blanket warning against it. The vaccine manufacturer, the Indian Immunologicals Limited (IIL), said the advisory in its present form has the potential to create anxiety and mistrust among the public and healthcare practitioners. It asked the Australian government to consider reviewing its advisory. Around a week ago, the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) said Australian travellers who have been administered the anti-rabies vaccine Abhayrab in India after November 1, 2023, should consider the vaccination invalid and initiate a new course of vaccination. The IIL has written to ATAGI, strongly refuting the "over-cautionary and misplaced reference" to a batch of vaccine manufactured in March 2024, and said it had ...

Australia's immunisation advisory group says counterfeit batches of rabies vaccine Abhayrab have circulated in India since November 2023, potentially leaving bite victims unprotected

According to the new directive, the families of individuals who die due to dog bites will receive ₹5 lakh as compensation from the state government

Six deaths, rabid wildlife clusters, and falling pet vaccination rates raise alarms across US states, prompting CDC to warn of a growing rabies threat

The Supreme Court has modified its earlier directive on stray dogs. They will now be sterilised and vaccinated, then released back to their localities. Aggressive and rabid dogs,

Supreme Court orders removal of stray dogs in Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, and Gurugram to shelters, warning against obstruction and citing rising rabies and bite cases

In a sweeping order aimed at tackling the growing menace of dog bites and rabies, the Supreme Court has directed civic bodies across Delhi-NCR to round up all stray dogs

Spike in stray dog bites and death due to rabies threatens India's target of eliminating the fatal disease by 2030 under its National Rabies Control Programme. Civic bodies plan coordinated response

The Supreme Court on Monday took suo motu cognisance of a media report about incidents of dog bites leading to rabies. A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan termed the news item published today in an English daily's Delhi edition as "very disturbing and alarming". "The news item contains some alarming and disturbing figures and facts," the bench said. It said every day, hundreds of dog bites were being reported in the city and on its outskirts, leading to rabies and ultimately, children and the aged were falling prey to the dreadful disease. "We take suo motu cognisance of this news item," the bench said. "Let this order be placed along with the news report before the Chief Justice of India for appropriate orders," it said.

More than 37 lakh cases of dog bites and 54 suspected human rabies deaths were reported during 2024, the government said on Tuesday. In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying S P Singh Baghel said the data on the total number of reported dog bite cases and suspected human rabies deaths, is collected from states/UTs under the National Rabies Control Program by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). As per the information provided by the NCDC, the total dog bite cases in 2024 stood at 37,17,336 while the total 'suspected human rabies deaths' were 54. Stating that municipalities are responsible to control the stray dog population, Baghel said they are implementing the Animal Birth Control Programme to regulate the population of stray dogs. In addition, the Centre has notified the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023, under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, which focuses on the neutering and anti-rabies

Despite strong vaccine uptake, India's rabies fight is failing due to poor access to full post-bite care, especially immunoglobulin, the ICMR warns in its latest findings

Alongside the rise in dog bite incidents, deaths caused by rabies also witnessed a sharp increase during the period under review, although the reasons behind this trend may vary

India records an estimated three to four million snake bites annually, resulting in approximately 50,000 deaths

The Supreme Court is slated to hear on Monday a PIL seeking the right to passive euthanasia for persons afflicted with rabies. A bench of Justices B R Gavai and K Vinod Chandran agreed to take up the petition filed by NGO All Creatures Great and Small on February 10 after the matter was mentioned for listing. In 2020, the top court issued notice to the Centre and sought responses from ministries of health and environment on the petition that was filed in 2019. In its plea, the NGO prayed that a procedure should be laid down for rabies patients to allow them or their guardians to opt for the assistance of physicians for assisted dying or passive euthanasia. On March 9, 2018, a five-judge Constitution bench of the SC held that right to life includes right to die and legalised passive euthanasia by allowing the creation of a 'living will' that could provide terminally ill patients or those in persistent vegetative state (PVS) with no hope of recovery a dignified exit by refusing medic

Three in every four animal bites are due to dogs, with over 5,700 deaths in humans estimated to occur each year due to rabies in India, according to a study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-study conducted a nationwide community-based survey from March, 2022 to August, 2023, covering 60 districts in 15 states. Over 78,800 households involving 3,37,808 individuals were interviewed about animal bites in the family, anti-rabies vaccination and deaths due to animal bite. Researchers, including those from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-National Institute of Epidemiology, Chennai, found that three in every four animal bites was a dog bite. Over 2,000 of those surveyed reported a history of animal bite -- 76.8 per cent of which (1,576) were dog bites. Further, over six per thousand people might be experiencing an animal bite, "translating into 9.1 million bites nationally", the authors said. "We estimated 5,

Nearly 30.5 lakh cases of dog bites were reported during 2023 leading to death of 286 persons, the government informed Parliament on Tuesday. "As per the data captured in the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) implemented by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, total 30,43,339 number of dog bite cases reported during 2023. During the year, 286 persons died due to dog bite," Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha. The number of anti-rabies shots for dog bite cases during the year 2023 was 46,54,398 as reported by National Centre for Disease Control. The health ministry has been implementing the National Rabies Control Programme since the 12th five-year plan in all states/Union Territories, except for Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep, to prevent and control rabies in the country. "Further, dog population management is one of the key functions for controlling dog

The states witnessing the least number of dog bite incidents were Nagaland (569), Mizoram (1,035), Ladakh (2,316), Manipur (2,511), and Arunachal Pradesh (3,757)