Is the Anti-rabies Vaccine Available in Most Public Health Facilities in India?

New Delhi, July 7 (NationPress) A significant finding from a recent study led by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) indicates that nearly 80% of public health facilities in India provide the anti-rabies vaccine, which is vital for achieving the target of rabies elimination by 2030.

Ensuring that post-exposure prophylaxis is both accessible and affordable is key to the fight against rabies.

This study, published in The Lancet Regional Health - Southeast Asia, involved a comprehensive survey of health facilities to assess the availability of the anti-rabies vaccine and rabies immunoglobulin.

Dr. Manoj Murhekar, Director of ICMR-National Institute of Epidemiology (ICMR-NIE), stated, “Our research revealed that almost 80% of public health facilities had the anti-rabies vaccine available.”

Currently, ICMR data shows India has seen a 75% drop in rabies-related fatalities.

However, India remains among the countries with the highest rabies death toll, with approximately 5,700 lives lost each year. Additionally, around 9 million animal bite incidents are reported annually.

The study, which spanned 60 districts across 15 states, also highlighted significant geographical and facility-level discrepancies in the medication's availability.

Out of 534 surveyed health facilities, 467 (or 87.5%) were public sector institutions.

The anti-rabies vaccine was accessible in 372 public facilities, with availability ranging between 60.0% and 93.2% across different regions.

Interestingly, urban primary healthcare centers (UPHCs) reported the lowest availability of the anti-rabies vaccine, while rabies immunoglobulin was found in 95 public sector health facilities, predominantly in southern states.

The availability of rabies immunoglobulin varied significantly, from 1.8% in UPHCs to 69.2% in medical college hospitals.

“The availability of the anti-rabies vaccine was lowest in the northeastern region and highest in the southern states. About two-thirds of public facilities offering the vaccine adopted the dose-saving intradermal regimen as per the National Rabies Control Programme, while the rest continued with the older intramuscular regimen,” Murhekar explained.

“Only one-fifth of public health facilities had rabies immunoglobulin available, with nearly two-thirds of medical college hospitals possessing it, but the availability was significantly lower in public primary care facilities,” he added.

The researchers pointed out that if the anti-rabies vaccine is unavailable at a health facility when a victim visits, those bitten may leave without receiving the necessary treatment, jeopardizing efforts to eliminate rabies.

The findings emphasize the urgent need to close the gap in the availability of the anti-rabies vaccine and rabies immunoglobulin to attain the goal of zero dog-mediated human rabies deaths by 2030, according to Murhekar.