<p>New Delhi: Three in every four animal bites are due to dogs, with over 5,700 deaths in humans estimated to occur each year due to rabies in India, according to a study published in <em>The Lancet Infectious Diseases</em> journal.</p>.<p>The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-study conducted a nationwide community-based survey from March 2022 to August 2023, covering 60 districts in 15 states.</p>.<p>Over 78,800 households involving 3,37,808 individuals were interviewed about animal bites in the family, anti-rabies vaccination and deaths due to animal bite.</p>.<p>Researchers, including those from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-National Institute of Epidemiology, Chennai, found that three in every four animal bites were a dog bite. Over 2,000 of those surveyed reported a history of animal bite -- 76.8 per cent of which (1,576) were dog bites.</p>.Surgical infection rate higher in India than many high-income countries: ICMR Study.<p>Further, over six per thousand people might be experiencing an animal bite, "translating into 9.1 million bites nationally", the authors said.</p>.<p>"We estimated 5,726 human rabies deaths occurring annually in India," they wrote.</p>.<p>The estimates can help understand whether the country is on track to meeting the global target of eliminating dog-mediated cases of rabies among humans by 2030, the authors said.</p>.<p>"Zero by 30" was launched in 2018 by the World Health Organization and collaborators.</p>.<p>However, reliable and recent estimates of deaths in humans due to rabies are not available in India, where a third of global cases occur, the researchers said.</p>.<p>They added that while cases of rabies deaths have declined over the past two decades, "India needs to fast-track its actions by adopting a focused one-health approach".</p>.<p>"Integrating human and animal surveillance, ensuring timely administration of full course of post-exposure prophylaxis, and accelerating dog vaccination across the country are crucial steps towards this goal," the authors wrote.</p>.<p>The authors also found that among the people who had been bitten by a dog (1,576), over a fifth did not receive an anti-rabies vaccination, while two-thirds (1,043) received at least three doses.</p>.<p>Nearly half of the 1,253 individuals who received one dose did not complete their full course of vaccination, the team said.</p>
<p>New Delhi: Three in every four animal bites are due to dogs, with over 5,700 deaths in humans estimated to occur each year due to rabies in India, according to a study published in <em>The Lancet Infectious Diseases</em> journal.</p>.<p>The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-study conducted a nationwide community-based survey from March 2022 to August 2023, covering 60 districts in 15 states.</p>.<p>Over 78,800 households involving 3,37,808 individuals were interviewed about animal bites in the family, anti-rabies vaccination and deaths due to animal bite.</p>.<p>Researchers, including those from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-National Institute of Epidemiology, Chennai, found that three in every four animal bites were a dog bite. Over 2,000 of those surveyed reported a history of animal bite -- 76.8 per cent of which (1,576) were dog bites.</p>.Surgical infection rate higher in India than many high-income countries: ICMR Study.<p>Further, over six per thousand people might be experiencing an animal bite, "translating into 9.1 million bites nationally", the authors said.</p>.<p>"We estimated 5,726 human rabies deaths occurring annually in India," they wrote.</p>.<p>The estimates can help understand whether the country is on track to meeting the global target of eliminating dog-mediated cases of rabies among humans by 2030, the authors said.</p>.<p>"Zero by 30" was launched in 2018 by the World Health Organization and collaborators.</p>.<p>However, reliable and recent estimates of deaths in humans due to rabies are not available in India, where a third of global cases occur, the researchers said.</p>.<p>They added that while cases of rabies deaths have declined over the past two decades, "India needs to fast-track its actions by adopting a focused one-health approach".</p>.<p>"Integrating human and animal surveillance, ensuring timely administration of full course of post-exposure prophylaxis, and accelerating dog vaccination across the country are crucial steps towards this goal," the authors wrote.</p>.<p>The authors also found that among the people who had been bitten by a dog (1,576), over a fifth did not receive an anti-rabies vaccination, while two-thirds (1,043) received at least three doses.</p>.<p>Nearly half of the 1,253 individuals who received one dose did not complete their full course of vaccination, the team said.</p>