World Rabies Day: India sees 20k rabies deaths a year, most preventable with vaccine, says Cadila Pharma CEO

The CEO highlighted Cadila Pharma’s recently introduced ThRabis, claimed to be the world’s first three-dose rabies vaccine. It has a simpler and more convenient regime, he said, while adding that lack of public awareness and the failure to complete the vaccine regimen are the key causes of rabies-related human deaths in India.

“One of the challenges in preventing rabies deaths until recently was that animal bite victims needed to get five doses of rabies vaccine spread over 28 days. Many victims did not complete the full course of the vaccine due to the potential loss of income associated with frequent hospital visits, leaving them unprotected and susceptible to developing rabies,” said Zia.

ThRabis, being a three-dose vaccine, addresses this challenge to a great extent and is proving to be a game-changer in helping in saving many lives, he said.

Rabies is one of the most common diseases in India with an annual estimate of 1.7 crore dog bites, according to Association of Prevention and Control of Rabies in India (APCRI) data.

A large stray dog population and limited success in control methods such as mass dog vaccination and animal birth control are among the reasons for the high number of animal bite and rabies cases in India.

According to reports, the deaths are more than 10 times higher in rural areas than in urban areas. Around 40 per cent of the animal bite victims are children under the age of 15.