Nearly 26,000 people, die of rabies in Southeast Asia, and 1.5 million people remain at risk of the disease
All over the world, rabies causes 59,000 deaths every year, that means one person every nine minutes. Most of the victims are children and belong to lower economic status.
India has the highest number of rabies cases in the world. Not only in terms of absolute numbers, but also in percentage terms (No. of cases per lakh people).
The Association for the Prevention and Control of Rabies in India (APCRI) reported in 2004 that there were 20,565 reported human deaths over the period of one year. True incidence of human rabies could be even 10 times more than those officially reported. Current statistics of animal bites/rabies in human population are scanty, unreliable and controversial due to poor surveillance/reporting system.
APCRI’s 2018 journal says:Â An estimated 20,000 people die each year from rabies infections in India, accounting for 36% of worldwide rabies deaths. No other country has more annual rabies deaths. The number of stray dogs worldwide has been estimated between 200 and 600 million. This situation is especially pronounced in India.The country is home to about 30 million stray dogs, which amounts to 1 stray dog per 42 people in the country. By some estimates, there are more stray dogs in India than in any other country.
India has the highest number of rabies cases in the world.
Source: WHO
Rabies, an invariably fatal viral disease, is transmitted to humans through animal bites, most commonly dogs. The disease is preventable through timely pre-and post-exposure vaccination. However, once the disease occurs, death is inevitable.
Owing to the enormity of the problem, the WHO recently called upon member states and partners to accelerate efforts to end rabies.
Dr Poonam K Singh, WHO Southeast Asia
Human rabies is caused mostly by dogs and can be eliminated by increasing awareness about the disease, vaccinating dogs and most importantly by making the already available life-saving rabies vaccines, medicines affordable & available to all. We can, and must break the disease cycle and save lives
Said Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO Southeast Asia at the global meeting on ‘Driving progress towards rabies elimination’ in Kathmandu. According to Dr Singh, Human rabies is caused mostly by dogs and can be eliminated by vaccinating dogs, increasing awareness about the disease and by making life-saving rabies vaccines, medicines, tools and technologies, affordable and available to all.
Rabies vaccination
The rabies endemic countries are seeking GAVI support to improve affordability and access to rabies vaccines for vulnerable populations, of which many are children. The WHO has been advocating for a shift from intramuscular to intradermal rabies vaccination, which is not only 60 to 80 % cheaper, but is of shorter treatment regimen of just one week.
Rabies is a viral disease that occurs in more than 150 countries and territories and is usually fatal once symptoms appear. Dog-transmitted rabies accounts for about 99 % of human rabies cases. 40% of people bitten by suspect rabid animals are children under 15 years of age.
A concerted effort between the human and animal health sectors and support from other stakeholders is needed to meet the goals of rabies elimination.
