Rabies Alert | Dog Bites in India & How to Stay Safe

Rabies remains a serious public health threat in India given great numbers of stray dogs and poor awareness causing susceptibility to the disease and impact for transmission. With almost 60 million stray dogs and 17 million dog bites each year, it is significant. India represents 36% of global rabies deaths with 30,000 per year. The threat is compounded by videos circulating on social media of rabies victims screaming and shaking or violently reacting to water, the most awfully symptomatic process known to humanity, a truly violent reaction in it’s self acuity.

Rabies is a fatal viral illness that has a special affinity for our central nervous systems and nearly always untreatable once symptoms have presented. The rabies virus, contracted mostly through the saliva of infected dogs- almost 97% of all cases in India are the result of dog bites. Other animals such as bats, foxes, and monkeys are less commonly responsible. The highest risk population are children aged 0-14 affected by nearly 60% of all bites. In humans, the rabies virus infects the body through a bite and works it way through the nerves to the brain, triggering severe neurological symptoms that will end a person’s life in a number of days.

Rabies symptoms typically occur 1 to 3 months after a dog bite. The “furious” form of rabies, which is 80% of cases, results in unpredictable behaviors such as screaming, fear of water (“hydrophobia”), or fear of breezes of air (“aerophobia”). This form of rabies has many videos on social media, that caused some distress to the viewers. The ‘paralytic’ form of rabies – 20% of cases relies more on muscle weakness, paralysis, coma and then death.

Rabies disease is handled when animal bites or scratches transfer saliva from the infected animal to a human. Most dog bites usually occur in the US. Pet exposures are of little perceived risk (provided that you vaccinated and take care of your pet) and outside of recommending vaccination, risk with infected animal exposure, where the infected animals frequently exhibited aggression when bitten, is usually strictly with stray dogs, etc. Rabies is not transmitted by contact, touching, or sharing food – only by bite or broken skin is rabies capable of being transmitted.

Although rabies is fatal, it is totally avoidable if you seek medical assistance immediately. After any animal bite, the injury should be washed thoroughly with soap and running water for at least 15 minutes. You need timely medical assistance for a tetanus shot and the anti-rabies vaccine. Make sure you finish the full vaccine regimen, which is generally scheduled over the course of about 14 days, to stop this virus before it gets to the brain. Dog owners must vaccinate their dogs every year and keep them on a leash when in public. Pet parents should report any aggressive or drooling stray dog to the local authority.

India has several rabies control challenges: bad waste management practices, under-vaccination, and myths that affect treatment; for instance, in rural settings and areas where access to anti-rabies vaccines is limited, it’s common for people to use traditional remedies, such as adding chili powder or turmeric, to wounds with fatal outcomes. Accordingly, according to the National Rabies Control Programme, India set a target of vaccinating 70 percent of India’s dog population by 2030, although no target date could have been set and funding is inadequate. Until then, education, timely vaccination, and prevention are the only weapons against such a dangerous disease.

Rabies is undoubtedly one of the most frightening diseases out there, but it is also one of the most irradicable diseases on Earth. In a country with a huge stray dog population, knowledge of the risks involved, quick response to bites, and continued vaccination of pets will ensure millions of lives will be saved every year.