Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: THE death of a six-year-old in Delhi after a dog bite has reignited concern over India’s long struggle with rabies. The Supreme Court’s directive on stray dogs has intensified the debate, pitching public safety against animal welfare and public health priorities. The order comes at a time when India has pledged to eliminate rabies by 2030, but rising dog-bite cases and gaps in treatment access are putting that goal under strain.
India continues to bear one of the heaviest rabies burdens in the world. A 2024 Lancet study estimated that nearly 5,700 Indians die from dog-mediated rabies every year. Government data paints a sobering picture: 3.7 million dog-bite cases were reported in 2024, compared with 3.05 million in 2023. In January 2025 alone, more than 400,000 people were bitten. Deaths, too, have crept upward.
The World Health Organisation estimates that globally around 59,000 people die annually from rabies, a vast majority in Asia and Africa, despite the existence of safe and effective vaccines.
Three-pillar plan
India launched its National Action Plan for Rabies Elimination (NAPRE) in 2021, in step with the WHO’s ‘Zero by 30’ campaign to end dog-mediated human rabies deaths worldwide by 2030. The plan rests on three pillars: mass dog vaccination, timely post-exposure prophylaxis, and public awareness.
But progress has been uneven. India is home to an estimated 5.2 crore stray dogs, or 37 per cent of the world’s homeless dog population. The Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023 mandate sterilisation, vaccination and release of stray dogs into their original locations, with culling permitted only for rabid or incurably ill animals.
On the treatment side, India has made notable gains in vaccine access. Widely used anti-rabies vaccines such as RABIVAX-S, Abhayrab, Indirab, VaxiRab-N and Verorab are stocked across much of the country. A Lancet survey of 534 health facilities in 15 states found that 80 per cent of public facilities had vaccines on hand, although availability dropped sharply in primary health centres.
RIG alternative
The greater crisis lies in the shortage of rabies immunoglobulins (RIG), which are critical for treating severe bites. The same study showed that only 20 per cent of facilities stocked RIG, with shortages most acute at the primary-care level, where more than 94 per cent had none.
Immunoglobulins, injected directly around the wound, are often the difference between life and death for patients with deep or multiple bites. To bridge the gap, Indian hospitals are increasingly turning to monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). Approved by the WHO as an alternative to immunoglobulins, mAbs have been validated in large clinical trials in India and found to be as safe and effective as equine-derived RIG. Municipal hospitals in Mumbai and several private centres have already adopted them, but national treatment protocols have yet to be formally updated.
Global challenges
India’s struggle mirrors global challenges. The WHO, FAO, World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) and the Global Alliance for Rabies Control (GARC) are coordinating efforts under the United Against Rabies Forum to reach zero dog-mediated human deaths by 2030. Progress is being made elsewhere: Mexico was validated as rabies-free in 2019, while Bangladesh and Tanzania have significantly cut cases through aggressive vaccination campaigns. In 2024, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, pledged support to expand rabies vaccine access in more than 50 low-income countries, adding fresh momentum to the global fight.
For India, meeting its 2030 target will require urgent and coordinated action. Experts stress the need to expand mass dogvaccination drives to achieve at least 70 per cent coverage, the level required to interrupt transmission. Ensuring reliable availability of vaccines and immunoglobulins at the primary-care level, accelerating the adoption of monoclonal antibodies, and scaling up sterilisation drives in line with the ABC Rules are equally critical.
Public awareness
Public awareness campaigns that highlight simple but life-saving steps – such as immediate wound washing and timely vaccination – will also be vital. Rabies remains one of the oldest yet most preventable diseases. India, at the intersection of policy, public health and compassion, has the chance to lead the world by example. But unless ambitious plans are matched by decisive execution, the country risks falling short of its promise to eliminate rabies by 2030, leaving thousands of lives at risk.
