Why in News ?
- The Delhi Government is set to declare rabies a notifiable disease to improve surveillance, mandatory case reporting, early detection, and death prevention, as announced by Health Minister Pankaj Kumar Singh.
- The move follows Supreme Court directions on stray-dog management and rabies deaths, including the death of a six-year-old child taken up suo motu.
- Aim: Zero human deaths from rabies in Delhi through strengthened public-health response.
Relevance
GS-II | Welfare, Health Systems, Governance & Public Policy
- Disease surveillance, mandatory reporting, One-Health coordination
- Urban governance, judicial-policy linkage (Supreme Court context)
GS-III | Public Health, Disaster & Social Sector
- Zoonotic diseases, preventive care, epidemiology, vaccination ecosystem
Basics — What is a “Notifiable Disease”?
- A disease that must be mandatorily reported by:
- government & private hospitals
- medical colleges & clinics
- individual practitioners
- Reporting supports:
- real-time surveillance
- trend mapping
- outbreak response
- resource allocation
(Comparable examples: TB, measles, dengue — notified under various state/national frameworks.)
Rabies — Public Health Basics
- Cause: Viral zoonotic disease transmitted mostly via dog bites.
- Fatality: ~100% fatal once symptoms appear.
- Prevention: Completely preventable through timely PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis) — wound wash, anti-rabies vaccine, and rabies immunoglobulin when indicated.
- WHO Target: Zero human deaths from dog-mediated rabies by 2030.
What the Delhi Notification Will Do ?
- Mandatory reporting of suspected, probable, and confirmed human rabies cases.
- Coverage includes all government and private health facilities.
- Enables:
- case tracking & disease mapping
- coordination between human & animal health systems (One Health approach)
- targeted preventive action in high-risk localities
India — Key Facts & Data on Rabies
- India’s global share
- Accounts for ~36% of global rabies deaths (WHO estimates).
- Global deaths ≈ 59,000/year → India contributes ~18,000–20,000 deaths annually, mostly dog-mediated.
- Burden profile
- >90% human rabies cases follow dog bites.
- Children & rural poor are the most affected groups.
- Under-reporting remains high due to weak surveillance and deaths occurring outside hospitals.
- Bite incidence
- National bite-case load estimated at 15–17 million dog-bite cases/year (IDSP & State surveillance compilations).
Global Context
- India contributes a significant share of global rabies deaths, largely dog-mediated.
- Notification aligns with:
- National Action Plan for Rabies Elimination (NAPRE)
- WHO “Zero by 2030” goal
- Ayushman Bharat–public health surveillance strengthening
Way Forward
- Scale-up PEP access & supply chains (ARV + RIG).
- Mass dog vaccination & sterilisation with reliable enumeration.
- Time-bound reporting protocols & digital case registry.
- Community awareness on:
- immediate wound-washing
- early hospital reporting
- Inter-departmental joint action under One-Health framework.
