In the State of Manipur in the North East region of India, 18 persons died
of rabies in one week, as reported in the New Indian Express (Chennai
edition) of 22 Mar 2006. The report said that the problem was partly due to
local shortage of rabies vaccine. No further details are available.
There is no clear direction on rabies control in the National Health Policy
(2002) of India. Although recognised as a widespread and frequent problem,
rabies is not included in the World Bank-supported new nationwide
integrated disease surveillance system. The State-run district level
disease surveillance in Kerala in southern India, in which rabies was
reportable, has recently been discontinued in preparation to introduce the
integrated surveillance. Thus, there is no reliable count on rabies
anywhere in India. The Sir Ronald Ross Institute of Tropical and Infectious
Diseases in Hyderabad had diagnosed rabies in 76 patients in 2005.
The existing laws do not permit killing of street (stray) dogs and
sterilisation attempts on them have not been successful. The annual risk
of bite by stray dogs is about 2 per 100 persons in the city of Bangalore.
Rabies occurs in foreign tourists, although rarely. The risk is of low
probability but of fatal consequence. Pre-exposure rabies prophylaxis by
vaccination is a safe and practical option for urban dwellers and tourists.
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