Date:04/03/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/03/04/stories/2007030402090500.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

India has highest number of rabies deaths

Staff Reporter

EXCHANGE: F.X. Meslin Chief of Rabies Unit, WHO (left), having a word with D. Nagaraja, Director of NIMHANS, at a conference in Bangalore on Saturday. — Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

Bangalore: The number of stray dogs in India is upward of 25 million. But the number sterilised and vaccinated annually is just 70,000. India has the highest number of human rabies deaths — on an average, 20,000 a year.

These were some of the figures that were brought to light at the first conference of the Rabies in Asia (RIA) Foundation, organised by the Kempegowda Institute of Medical sciences (KIMS) and the National Institute of Mental health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), here on Saturday. RIA was established to understand and "eliminate rabies in Asia".

"The implementation of Animal Birth Control and anti-rabies programmes have been too piecemeal, and has been working on individual initiative. There is neither a national rabies control programme nor a dog population management strategy," said R.L Ichhpujani, Additional Director, National Institute of Communicable Diseases, New Delhi.

Presenting the scenario for Asia, F.X. Meslin, Chief, Zoonoses Unit, World Health Organisation, Geneva, drew attention to the fact that while India ranks number one in world rabies deaths, it only comes fifth in terms of providing PEP regimes.

D. Nagaraja, Director, NIMHANS said: "The fact that rabies has not been brought into control shows that there is very little coordination between the various authorities, and that no one will take the responsibility. Coordination between the central and State Governments, municipal authorities and the community at large is what we need," he said.