CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has directed the Tamil Nadu government to consider declaring rabies in animals as a notifiable disease under the Tamil Nadu Public Health Act, 1932. The order was passed while disposing of a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Antony Clement Rubin, an animal welfare activist.
The court has instructed the Health and Family Welfare Department and the Animal Husbandry Department to respond within 30 days to Rubin’s representation dated November 10, 2024, which also calls for a specialised task force to address the rabies crisis.
The court, while unable to directly enforce the declaration or task force creation—deeming these executive functions—directed the Health Secretary and Animal Husbandry Secretary to evaluate Rubin’s plea. Experts view this as a pivotal step, potentially paving the way for a stronger public health system as Tamil Nadu confronts this preventable yet deadly scourge.
Rubin told TNIE rabies, a preventable zoonotic disease primarily transmitted by dogs, poses a severe public health threat due to systemic gaps in detection and prevention. “India accounts for 36% of global rabies deaths, with Tamil Nadu alone reporting 40 fatalities and close to 7 lakh dog bite cases last year alone,” Rubin stated, citing World Health Organisation data showing over 59,000 annual deaths worldwide.
He stressed that while rabies has been eradicated in many developed nations, its persistence in Tamil Nadu stems from inadequate vaccination coverage and diagnostic infrastructure.
Declaring rabies in animals as a notifiable disease is critical for early detection and containment. The incubation period can span weeks to months, during which an infected animal appears asymptomatic yet remains a transmission risk. By the time clinical signs emerge, it’s almost always fatal, and the damage is done.
Shruti Vinod Raj, member of Tamil Nadu Animal Welfare Board, said mandating the reporting of all animal rabies cases—especially in dogs—would enable authorities to track hotspots, halt transmission at the source, and protect both human and livestock populations.
Shruti said the current designation of rabies as a notifiable disease only in humans under the 1932 Act is ineffective. “Since rabies originates in animals, particularly stray dogs and wildlife, human cases are a late-stage consequence of unchecked transmission,” she asserted.
The Prevention and Control of Infectious and Contagious Diseases in Animals Act, 2009, which lists rabies as a multi-species disease requiring reporting, yet enforcement remains lax in Tamil Nadu. “Reliable reporting is the cornerstone of prevention,” Rubin said, advocating for robust vaccination drives and animal birth control programmes to complement this framework.
Dr Reeta S Mani, professor and head, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru, told TNIE declaring rabies in both humans and animals will tell us the true burden of the disease. It will also help policy makers take informed decisions.
Rabies deaths in Tamil Nadu
Year --------------- Number of deaths
2020 --------------- 20
2021 --------------- 19
2022 --------------- 28
2023 --------------- 22
2024 --------------- 40