New Delhi [India], July 28 : The Supreme Court initiated suo motu proceedings on Monday in response to a media report on the growing menace of stray dog attacks, which are leading to an increase in rabies cases.
A division bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan termed the news report as "very disturbing and alarming".
"The news item contains some alarming and disturbing figures and facts. Every day, hundreds of dog bites are reported in cities and areas on the outskirts, leading to rabies and ultimately, young infants, children and the aged are falling prey to this dreadful disease," the bench said.
The news report revealed that the elderly and children were the most affected by rabies from dog bite incidents.
The bench proceeded to take suo motu cognizance of the issue and directed that the matter be placed before the Chief Justice of India (CJI), BR Gavai, for appropriate directions.
Earlier, in a study done by the Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Epidemiology (ICMR-NIE), on Human rabies death and animal bite burden estimates in India, 2022-2023, it was revealed that more than 5000 people die every year due to dog bites. The study also revealed that the dog bite incidence was higher among children below 14 years and the elderly aged above 60 years
"Nearly 9.1 million animal bites and 5,726 human rabies deaths due to dog bites are estimated to occur every year in India."
"80 per cent of the dog bite victims reported taking at least one dose of the vaccination. In order to eliminate dog-mediated rabies by 2030, India must continue to fast-track its action through a focused one health approach," stated the study done by ICMR-NIE.
The study stated, "The primary objectives of the study are to estimate the incidence of animal bites and to estimate human rabies deaths by decision tree model. The secondary objectives are to estimate the proportion of animal bite cases receiving post-exposure prophylaxis, describe the anti-rabies vaccine supply chain at different levels of the health care system and estimate direct and indirect costs associated with animal bite cases".
Dr. Rajesh Kumar, Associate Director of Internal Medicine at Paras Health, Gurugram, stated that the Rabies virus is the cause of the fatal viral disease rabies. It is primarily transmitted by the bite or scratch of an infected animal, usually a stray dog, but it can also be spread by bats, cats, and monkeys.
The virus causes inflammation in the brain by affecting the central nervous system.Once symptoms appear, such as fever, confusion, fear of water, and paralysis, it is almost always fatal.
The risks linked to rabies are severe. If wounds from animal bites or scratches are not cleaned and treated correctly, they can lead to serious infections like sepsis, or localized bacterial infections, he said.