Closing the Gaps: Delhi Notifies Human Rabies to Curb Fatalities
To bridge the gap in disease reporting and avoid fatalities, the Delhi Government has taken a step to declare Human Rabies a “Notifiable disease” under the Epidemic Diseases Act. This decision marks the significant move aiming to strengthen public health surveillance. The decision mainly focuses on advanced early detection, improved reporting, and coordinated response to one of the deadliest diseases, yet a preventable one.
Following this notification, it is mandatory for all government and private healthcare facilities across Delhi, including hospitals, clinics, laboratories, and individual medical practitioners, to report every suspected, expected, and active case of Human rabies to the relevant health authorities. This decision is intended to keep the health system aware of the complexities and to make sure that no case goes unnoticed and lands in death.
Rabies is a zoonotic disease (viral disease) transmitted mainly through animal bites, particularly from dogs. The disease is lethal once the symptoms appear. However, the medical approach post-exposure, including wound care, vaccination, and administration of antibodies, can prevent the disease. But unfortunately, India still remains among the countries most affected by rabies globally. According to the WHO estimates, the disease causes a significant number of deaths each year, especially among children and the population with limited access to healthcare.
To support and move ahead with this cause, the government has expanded the critical treatment accessibility across Delhi. There are 33 designated hospitals and clinics, and 59 health facilities covering all 11 districts holding Rabies Immunoglobulin (RIG) stocks and Anti-rabies vaccines (ARV), respectively. Detailed guidelines and standard operating protocols, along with inter-agency coordination, are yet to be issued.
Dr. Pankaj Kumar Singh, Delhi’s Health Minister, says, “Rabies is a preventable disease, and any death caused by it is unacceptable to us”. He stressed that the city’s target is to achieve zero deaths from human rabies.
Additionally, to integrate Human and Animal health responses and to recognise the correlation between Zoonotic diseases, the system adopts the “One Health” approach. Delhi is joining hands with local bodies, animal health departments, and other stakeholders to advance this initiative, finalising its State Action Plan for Rabies Elimination (SAPRE) in partnership
As per the experts, this integrated strategy focuses on controlling the primary source of rabies transmission by improving the detection and response times, especially in the high-risk areas of stray dog bites. This yet remains a challenge, but this notification would help identify the locality of Human rabies and take the required action.
The Delhi Government’s initiative has been welcomed and appreciated by public health experts. Making the disease notifiable is expected to improve data accuracy and accountability, at the same time emphasizing the importance of proper medical treatment after animal bites. Officials urge the people to understand how lethal this disease is and advise them not to ignore or self-treat the animal bites, even though they seem minor.
By declaring that Human rabies is a notifiable disease, the government of Delhi sends a strong message that no death caused by any preventable disease is tolerable and suitable actions must be taken to keep the fatality at bay.
