Why in News?
- The The Delhi government will declare rabies a disease notifiable disease improve surveillance, mandatory case reporting, early detection and prevention of deathas announced by Health Minister Pankaj Kumar Singh.
- The move follows Supreme Court Directions on Management of Stray Dogs and Rabies Deathsincluding the death of a six-year-old child so motu.
- Goal: Zero human deaths due to rabies in Delhi through a strengthened public health response.
Relevance
GS-II | Welfare, healthcare systems, governance and public policy
- Disease surveillance, mandatory reporting, One-Health coordination
- Urban governance, link between justice and policy (Supreme Court context)
GS-III | Public health, disasters and social sector
- Zoonotic diseases, preventive care, epidemiology, vaccination ecosystem
Basics — What is a “notifiable disease”?
- A disease that must be reported mandatorily Through:
- government and private hospitals
- medical colleges and clinics
- individual practitioners
- Reporting supports:
- real-time monitoring
- mapping trends
- response to an outbreak
- allocation of resources
(Similar examples: tuberculosis, measles, dengue – reported under different state/national frameworks.)
Rabies – Basics of Public Health
- Cause: Viral zoonotic disease, usually transmitted via dog bites.
- Fatality: ~100% fatal once symptoms appear.
- Prevention: Completely preventable by timely PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis) — wound irrigation, rabies vaccine, and rabies immunoglobulin when indicated.
- WHO target: Zero human deaths from dog-borne rabies by 2030.
What will the Delhi notification do?
- Mandatory notification of suspected, probable and confirmed cases of rabies in humans.
- Coverage includes all government and private health care facilities.
- Makes possible:
- case tracking and disease mapping
- coordination between human and animal healthcare systems (One Health approach)
- targeted preventive action in high-risk places
India — Key Facts and Data on Rabies
- India‘s global share
- Bills for ~36% of global rabies deaths (WHO estimates).
- Global deaths ≈ 59,000/year → India contributes ~18,000–20,000 deaths annuallylargely dog-mediated.
- Load profile
- >90% of human rabies cases follow dog bites.
- Children and the poor in rural areas are the most affected groups.
- Underreporting remains high due to weak surveillance and deaths outside hospitals.
- Bite incidence
- The national bite burden is estimated at 15–17 million dog bite cases/year (IDSP and State Surveillance Compilations).
Global context
- India contributes a significant portion of this global deaths from rabieslargely mediated by dogs.
- Message corresponds to:
- National Action Plan for the Eradication of Rabies (NAPRE)
- WHO “Zero by 2030” goal
- Ayushman India–strengthening public health surveillance
Way forward
- Scaling up PEP access and supply chains (ARV + RIG).
- Mass vaccination and sterilization of dogs with reliable counting.
- Time-based reporting protocols & digital file register.
- Community consciousness on:
- immediate wound cleansing
- early hospital reporting
- Interdepartmental joint action under the One-Health framework.
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