Lancet Study Reveals That Three out of Four Animal Bites in India Are Caused by Dogs

NEW DELHI, Jan 25: A recent study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal reveals that dogs are responsible for three out of four animal bites, leading to an estimated 5,700 human deaths annually in India due to rabies.

The study, conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), involved a nationwide community-based survey from March 2022 to August 2023, covering 60 districts across 15 states.

Researchers interviewed over 78,800 households, which included a total of 337,808 individuals, about animal bites, anti-rabies vaccinations, and deaths resulting from animal bites.

According to the findings from the ICMR-National Institute of Epidemiology in Chennai, 76.8% of those who reported animal bites experienced dog bites. In total, over 2,000 individuals indicated they had a history of animal bites.

The researchers estimate that more than six per thousand individuals may experience an animal bite, which translates to approximately 9.1 million bites nationwide.

“We estimate that there are 5,726 deaths from human rabies each year in India,” the authors stated.

These estimates are crucial for determining whether India is on track to meet the global goal of eliminating dog-mediated rabies cases in humans by 2030, as emphasized by the authors.

The World Health Organization, along with partners, launched the “Zero by 30” initiative in 2018 to address this issue.

Despite a notable decrease in rabies deaths over the past twenty years, researchers highlighted the need for India to expedite efforts by implementing a focused one-health approach.

This includes integrating human and animal health surveillance, ensuring timely provision of complete post-exposure prophylaxis, and ramping up dog vaccination efforts across the nation.

The study also revealed that among the individuals bitten by dogs (1,576), more than one-fifth did not receive anti-rabies vaccination, while approximately two-thirds (1,043) managed to receive at least three doses.

Nearly half of the 1,253 people who received one dose did not complete the full vaccination course, according to the research team. (PTI)