ALAPPUZHA: Poor monitoring by local bodies, a social and cultural apathy towards waste management and inadequate awareness about infections and the need for vaccinations are being blamed for the rapid rise in rabid-dog attacks and deaths due to rabies in the state.
According to data made available by the state health department in reply to an RTI application, 94 people have died from rabies infection in the state over the past five years. Stray dogs have bit around 12.94 lakh people over the same period. From five in 2020, the number of people who died from rabies increased to 26 in 2024.
Cases of stray dog bites numbered 1,60,483 in 2020, which increased to 3,16,793 in 2024, the data showed. The failure of local self-government institutions (LSGIs) in controlling the stray dog population through sterilisation is being seen as a major reason for the spiralling number of rabies deaths and dog bites.
The increase in deaths from rabies is alarming, said Raju Vazhakkala, an RTI activist who filed the application. “Crores of rupees are spent every year on vaccination of stray dogs, sterilisation and other processes as part of the Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme of the state government, but it has not proved effective in controlling infections and deaths. The dumping of food waste in public places is helping breed strays,” he said.
Many people are infected by rabies due to lack of awareness of the need to take vaccines. Last year, two children from Alappuzha died from infection, which they and their parents were not aware were caused by dog bites.
A child from Haripad who was not vaccinated died around six months ago. After the stray attacked him, he fell into a drain near his house. The child was treated at the taluk hospital for bruises from the fall. He did not, however, inform hospital authorities or parents about the dog attack.
This week, another child died of similar circumstances. He was attacked by a stray dog while cycling to school a few months ago. His parents noticed dog bites on the tyres of the cycle, but they were not informed about the attack. He developed symptoms last week and died on Monday. During an inspection, no visible marks were noticed on the body and parents and health department officials were left puzzled about how he had been infected.
Dr Jamuna Varghese, DMO, Alappuzha, said children tend to fall victim to rabies because they hide dog attacks from parents and teachers. If there are no major bite marks, children tend to hide such attacks, which could prove costly. Many people keep pets like cat or dogs and most of them neglect minor claw marks that they cause. Such marks may lead to infection,” Dr Jamuna said.
Not as easy as ‘ABC’
The state government has set up 15 Animal Birth Control (ABC) centres. However, regulations of the Animal Welfare Board of India are an obstacle to the smooth functioning of these facilities. Each centre must have a veterinary doctor credited with more than 2,000 surgeries, an operation theatre, pre-operative and post-operative facilities, an air-conditioned isolation ward, ambulance, incinerators, and a CCTV facility. These kinds of parameters backtrack the implementation of the ABC programme.