Man bites dog: India’s progress in tackling rabies

Gowri Yale, a veterinarian with a PhD in rabies epidemiology, was manning a 24 hour rabies hotline in Goa. A man called, saying that his 10 year old son had been bitten by a street dog. Members of Mission Rabies, a charity started as part of the UK based Worldwide Veterinary Service,1 had spoken at the boy’s school, and he had a pamphlet with the hotline number.

The father was unsure about the information—did his son really need five injections? Yale urged the man to get his son the injections from a private or government run hospital, which is not necessarily an easy thing to do. Rabies treatment in India consists of four vaccines taken over a period of 14 days. A fast acting shot of the rabies immunoglobulin is also advised as soon as possible.

These injections are free at government run hospitals, but stocks are often low, and long queues can result in tedious hours spent waiting. At private hospitals, the entire course of injections could cost as much as Rs4000 (£42; €51; $56). “It’s very important that he gets all five injections,” she said repeatedly.

The next morning, after reports that the dog had bitten another person, Mission Rabies officials picked it up and euthanised it. A necropsy confirmed rabies.