Health Alerts

India: Human rabies numbers compiled. The Union Health Ministry of India reported 324 fatalities due to animal bites in 2014: Gujarat reported 7 deaths in 2014 and 8 in 2015, respectively. The figures came down in 2016 when the state reported only one death due to rabies. With 146 deaths, West Bengal had the highest rabies death toll, followed by Delhi (39), Jharkhand (34) and Madhya Pradesh (23). According to the ProMED moderator “India's human rabies statistics have been subject to discussions in the past, and are certainly in need of elucidation. The official annual number of human fatalities has been counted in 3-figure numbers, while 5-figure numbers are generally cited by international organisations. Read more