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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 ...
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
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