The Hindu : National : Rabid dog bite cases on the rise

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, May 02, 2004

National

National

Rabid dog bite cases on the rise

By M.J. Prabhu

CHENNAI, MAY 1. In India about 30,000 persons contract rabies every year, more than two million people are exposed to animals, and about a million are administered anti-rabies vaccines, according to a report of the National Institute of Communicable Diseases, New Delhi.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2003 says that death due to rabid dog bites in India is increasing every year. About 17,000 people die of rabies in India every year.

There have been no reported cases of survival of an infected person, the WHO says. Rabies occurs in all parts of the country, except the Lakshadeweep and the Andaman and Nicobar islands.

Some 95 per cent of the bites are inflicted by stray dogs. The Blue Cross of India has launched the "Animal Birth Control-Anti Rabies" (ABC-AR) programme to control street dog population. The programme is now being implemented in Chennai, Visakhapatnam, Jaipur and Kalimpong near Darjeeling.

Dr. S. Chinny Krishna, chairperson of the Blue Cross, says: "Municipal authorities, confronted by the problem of abandoned dogs biting people, have turned to elimination of the animals in the hope of finding a quick solution. But they have not been able to achieve any result. Even after killing a number of strays, their population has not reduced."

Under the ABC-AR programme, street dogs are caught, neutered, vaccinated and released in the same place from where they were caught. "It is a sustained catch-and-neuter programme, coupled with vaccination against rabies," says Dr. Krishna. The cost of neutering and vaccinating a stray is between Rs. 400 and Rs. 600.

Dr. Aamir Jann, of the Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Chennai, is not optimistic about the ABC-AR programme. "The problem does not end by merely vaccinating the strays and leaving them back in the same place. A single vaccination dose is effective for a year and the dogs have to be revaccinated. Unlike cats, dogs do not stay in one place and it will be very difficult to locate the vaccinated animal. If the ABC programme is indeed a success, then what about the number of stray dogs one finds in any given location during late night hours or near garbage dumps in the city?"

Says Dr. Inbasagaram, a Chennai-based veterinary doctor: "Every stray dog bite needs anti-rabies vaccination as there is no treatment for rabies. The full course of vaccination costs between Rs. 2,000 and Rs. 5,000, depending on the severity of the bite. The patients should take antibiotics, tetanus and other measures to prevent infection. There is higher chance of wound infection if antibiotics are not administered immediately."

Dog-bite victims are usually categorised as class one, two and three, depending on the severity of the bite and the proximity of the site to the head and neck.

While a majority of class two bite patients are provided five doses of anti-rabies vaccine, those under class three category have to be administered a shot of anti-rabies serum along with the first of the six-dose anti-rabies vaccine. The cost of the vaccine is increasing. At the Government General Hospital, Chennai, patients are charged Rs. 300, while in private hospitals, the vaccine costs Rs. 3000 to Rs. 5000.

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