CHENNAI: With the recent Supreme Court judgments triggering intense and polarised debates on the issue of increasing stray dog population, dog bites and rabies cases, data show that of the 64 rabies deaths recorded in Tamil Nadu in the last 18 months (January 2024 to August 2025), 15 deaths (23.4%) were caused by pet dog bites and rest due to attack by stray dogs (76%).
According to the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine data accessed by TNIE, of the 43 rabies deaths recorded in 2024, 41 were due to partial or complete lack of vaccination, and two persons died even after completion of full vaccination schedule due to possible viral load.
Experts said the data underscored the need for dog owners to get their pets mandatorily vaccinated once every year as the trend indicated that a large number of pet dogs may be unvaccinated.
Doctors also emphasised the need for people to take required doses of rabies vaccine (along with rabies immunoglobulin depending on the nature of the bite) as part of post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) even if they are bitten by their vaccinated pet dogs.
Though the chance of getting infected could be minimal in case of vaccinated dogs, there is a remote possibility of infection if the victims skip PEP, experts said.
Of the 43 rabies deaths last year, 33 were due to stray dog attack, and remaining 10 were due to attack by pet dogs.
Complete immunisation doses even if attack is by vaccinated pet: Doctors
While a person had suffered category I bite (licks on intact skin), four persons suffered category II bite (minor scratches, abrasions without bleeding), and five others suffered category III bite (scratches, bites or licks on broken skin). The category of 33 cases was uncertain.
As per the National Guidelines for Rabies Prophylaxis issued in 2019, “The history of rabies vaccination in an animal does not guarantee that the biting animal is not rabid ... it cannot be presumed that a vaccinated dog is actually protected, given the variable efficacy of various anti-rabies vaccines in animals or health status of animals. Hence, irrespective of the vaccination status of the biting animal, the PEP should be given.”
Dr A Somasundaram, Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, said, “People should understand that they cannot skip vaccines and that they are not safe just because they are bitten by pet dogs. Even if the dog has been vaccinated properly, one cannot be sure if the dog is 100% protected. Hence, people should get fully vaccinated.”
The data also showed that dog bite cases are on the rise in the state. While 4.81 lakh cases were reported in 2024, 3.83 lakh cases (80% of last year’s) have already been recorded in the first eight months of 2025. Meanwhile, human rabies deaths seem to show signs of marginal decline as per the numbers reported so far.
A total of 43 deaths were reported in 2024, compared to 21 (49% of last year) reported in 2025 as of August 21. Of the 43 deaths last year, the deceased were bitten by pet dogs in 10 cases. This year, the number was five out of 21. As per the data, of these 21 deaths, 18 were either unvaccinated or partially vaccinated.
Dr Somasundaram said people should realise that rabies in humans is 100% fatal if they do not get fully jabbed after getting bitten. “They should complete all four doses without fail,” he said.
He stressed that many mistakenly think that they should take subsequent doses only at the same hospital where they took the first dose, leading to many failing to complete all four doses. “This is not true. Even if someone has travelled to a different place after the first dose, they can get the second or subsequent doses at any hospital,” he said.
The doctor added that DPH has a system in place for following up with people for dog bite cases to complete vaccination. Acknowledging that some people missed their jabs despite this, he pointed out that sending reminders to people through SMS can be considered to strengthen the follow-up mechanism.
Dr K Kolandaswamy, former director of DPH, said that deaths happen in the case of pet dog attacks because most of them miss booster doses for dogs. Once every year, the dogs should be given booster doses. If the immunity of vaccinated dogs is weak, there’s a high possibility of them not being fully protected, he said.