Rabies kills 5,700 Indians every year: Government aims for zero deaths by 2030
Despite the progress, approximately 5,700 people still die from rabies in India every year, making it one of the leading countries in the world for rabies fatalities.The study also revealed that around 9 million animal bite cases are reported annually in the country, with two-thirds of them involving dog bites, the primary cause of rabies transmission.To bridge existing gaps in prevention and care, Dr. Murhekar stressed the need to improve the availability of life-saving treatments across the country.'Rabies vaccine is currently available in 80% of health facilities. The goal is to take it to 100%. It is necessary to make monoclonal antibodies vaccine available, and it is especially important to give preformed antibody vaccines in Class 3 bite cases,' he explained.Monoclonal antibody vaccines are a type of immunoglobulins that use lab-made proteins that act like natural antibodies to fight specific viruses.Unlike regular vaccines that train your body to make antibodies, these give you ready-made protection. They're fast-acting and useful in emergencies or for people with weak immune systems who can't respond well to traditional vaccines.The availability of such vaccines in peripheral health facilities was limited, while they were accessible in medical colleges, they now need to be made available everywhere.The government is also focusing on a 'One Health' approach, which recognises the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health.'We need to improve surveillance in animals. The goal is to make the rabies vaccine available in all hospitals across the country,' Dr. Murhekar said.This comes after 22-year-old state-level Kabaddi player from Uttar Pradesh, Brijesh Solanki, died weeks after being bitten by a puppy.When Solanki, a resident of Farana village, was bitten by the puppy while rescuing it from a drain, he became negligent and did not get an anti-rabies infection.Dr. Murhekar stated that the government's objective is to ensure the availability of rabies vaccines in every hospital nationwide.- Ends
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The Hindu
3 hours ago
- The Hindu
No evidence that COVID-19 vaccination is causing sudden deaths in young people: AIIMS doctors
No direct link has been established between COVID-19 vaccination and reports of sudden deaths in young people, doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, said on Thursday (July 3, 2025). Countering Karnataka Chief Minister's Siddaramaiah's remark that sudden deaths could be linked to the COVID-19 vaccination, the doctors cited studies. The press conference by the AIIMS Delhi doctors comes a day after the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said that studies had conclusively established there was no direct link between COVID-19 vaccination and reports of sudden deaths. R. Narang, Professor, Cardiology AIIMS Delhi, highlighted the importance of studying the cause of sudden deaths in young people. 'We know from past studies that sudden [cardiac] arrests in young people versus those in older people have different causes. There are two major causes among sudden arrests in young people — the first is rhythm issues, which lead to irregular heartbeat; and the second is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), where the muscle thickens. This is common among young athletes,' Dr. Narang said. In older people, the most common cause of sudden heart attacks is blood clots in the coronary arteries, with the flow of blood to the heart muscle blocked, Dr. Narang added. 'Why such sudden deaths are reported more now could have other causes that are not related to health. One possible reason is that after COVID-19, there has been more focus on health, and an increase in the use of social media channels, such as WhatsApp, where messages spread widely and become viral quickly,' he said in response to questions from the media. 'There is no conclusive evidence that the COVID-19 vaccine is causing sudden cardiac arrests. In fact, vaccines have proven to be more beneficial by reducing the severity of infections and associated complications,' Dr. Narang said. The interim project report of an ongoing study titled 'The burden of sudden death in young: A year's snapshot of a single centre in India', being conducted by AIIMS doctors and funded by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), which studied 2,214 deaths, found that 180 (8.1%) were sudden deaths, of which 57.2% were cases of sudden deaths in the young (SDY). Causes related to the cardiovascular system (CVS) causes constituted the most SDY (42.6%), followed by respiratory causes (21.3%). While the study is ongoing and will take a year to complete, the researchers had not found any link to COVID-19 vaccination, and all possible causes were being studied, Sudheer Arava, one of the professors conducting the study, said. The AIIMS Delhi doctors also cited another ICMR study titled 'Factors associated with unexplained sudden deaths among adults aged 18-45 years in India: A multicentric matched case-control study', which finds that COVID-19 vaccination did not increase the risk of unexplained sudden death among young adults in India. 'Past COVID-19 hospitalisation, family history of sudden death and certain lifestyle behaviours increased the likelihood of unexplained sudden death,' the ICMR study said.
India Today
5 hours ago
- India Today
Rabies kills 5,700 Indians every year: Government aims for zero deaths by 2030
India has recorded a 75% reduction in rabies-related deaths, according to Dr. Manoj Murhekar, Director of the ICMR-National Institute of Epidemiology (ICMR-NIE).The central government has set a goal of eliminating rabies deaths entirely by 2030, as part of its broader public health strategy.'We need to ensure that dogs are vaccinated. Only human vaccines will not suffice. We have data about how many animal bites are there, but we also need data about how many rabies deaths are there in dogs," said Dr. Murhekar, quoted an ICMR study published in The Lancet last Despite the progress, approximately 5,700 people still die from rabies in India every year, making it one of the leading countries in the world for rabies study also revealed that around 9 million animal bite cases are reported annually in the country, with two-thirds of them involving dog bites, the primary cause of rabies bridge existing gaps in prevention and care, Dr. Murhekar stressed the need to improve the availability of life-saving treatments across the country.'Rabies vaccine is currently available in 80% of health facilities. The goal is to take it to 100%. It is necessary to make monoclonal antibodies vaccine available, and it is especially important to give preformed antibody vaccines in Class 3 bite cases,' he antibody vaccines are a type of immunoglobulins that use lab-made proteins that act like natural antibodies to fight specific regular vaccines that train your body to make antibodies, these give you ready-made protection. They're fast-acting and useful in emergencies or for people with weak immune systems who can't respond well to traditional availability of such vaccines in peripheral health facilities was limited, while they were accessible in medical colleges, they now need to be made available government is also focusing on a 'One Health' approach, which recognises the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health.'We need to improve surveillance in animals. The goal is to make the rabies vaccine available in all hospitals across the country,' Dr. Murhekar comes after 22-year-old state-level Kabaddi player from Uttar Pradesh, Brijesh Solanki, died weeks after being bitten by a Solanki, a resident of Farana village, was bitten by the puppy while rescuing it from a drain, he became negligent and did not get an anti-rabies Murhekar stated that the government's objective is to ensure the availability of rabies vaccines in every hospital nationwide.- Ends
India Today
7 hours ago
- India Today
No link between Covid vaccines and sudden deaths: Ex-AIIMS chief Randeep Guleria
Former AIIMS-Delhi Director Dr. Randeep Guleria remarked on the ongoing concerns of Covid-19 vaccines linked with sudden deaths. He said taht the studies by the Indian Council of Medical Research and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences clearly show that the young deaths reported are not related to Covid-19 vaccines."Covid-19 vaccines do have some side effects, all vaccines or drugs have some side effects, but the link between vaccination and heart attacks is not there. None of the studies have shown that. One of causes of the heart attacks is due to genetic background, lifestyle, lack of physical activity and a diet more in fat and increasing obesity, with more desk jobs. All this is predisposed to cause heart attacks in young people. There's no link between the Covid-19 vaccines and the sudden heart attack deaths," Dr. Guleria told news agency ICMR and AIIMS have conducted comprehensive studies confirming that Covid-19 vaccines are not associated with sudden deaths due to heart attacks among young adults, especially after the Union Health Ministry stressed the safety of vaccines, contradicting claims of linking vaccines to cardiac fatalities. The studies, carried out across 47 hospitals in 19 states, focused on unexplained sudden deaths among adults aged 18 to 45. Findings indicate that lifestyle, genetic factors, and pre-existing conditions are most likely the contributors to such statement came after Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah suggested potential links between Covid vaccines and the rise in heart-related deaths. However, the Union Health Ministry denied any connection, highlighting the scientific evidence supporting vaccine studies support the importance of understanding the broader health context rather than attributing these incidents to vaccines further address these concerns, a multi-centre study was initiated to investigate the sudden deaths of seemingly healthy showed no increase in sudden death risk due to Covid-19 vaccination, aligning with earlier findings by ICMR and makers of Covishield, the Serum Institute of India, also reinforced the safety of their vaccines, stating, "The vaccines are safe and scientifically validated," in response to the ICMR and AIIMS studies.- EndsMust Watch
