Rabies Vaccine and Issues In India
Source : Indian Express
GS II : Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources
What is discussed under Rabies Vaccine and Issues In India?
- About Rabies and its Vaccine
- How India dealing Rabies issues?
Why in News ?
Recently the death of a 12-year-old girl in Kerala from rabies, despite having multiple inoculations of the vaccine, has raised questions on the efficacy of rabies vaccines in India and their availability.
About Rabies and its Vaccine
Rabies
- Rabies is a disease that is caused by a family of viruses called the lyssaviruses and found in a range of mammals.
Image by Nicholas Demetriades from Pixabay - The virus targets the central nervous system
- It is nearly 100% fatal to the host animal if it succeeds in infecting it.
- Spread : Most likely to spread to people from the bite of an infected dog or a cat as they are the most common pets.
- After being bitten by a rabid animal the virus is slow-moving and it can be several weeks before the disease manifests into a fatal encephalitis.
Rabies vaccine
- Working : Vaccine induce to the body into producing antibodies that can neutralise the live virus in case of infection.
- Dose : No single-shot rabies vaccine or one that offers permanent immunity.
- Two ways to administer
- Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) which is given to persons who have been exposed via a bite to an animal suspected to be infected. The vaccines are administered either into the muscles, or into the skin.
- Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) which is given ahead of time to persons who have a high risk of being infected, such as veterinarians. WHO doesn’t recommend PrEP as a general preventive.
- There are at least six rabies vaccines approved for India and all contain inactivated virus made of duck, chicken or human cell cultures.
- They are available for free in government dispensaries.
How India dealing Rabies issues?
- India has committed to eliminate the disease by 2030 which requires vaccination of dogs who are deemed responsible for 99% of all rabies infections in people
- The government in its 2021 plan, National Action for Plan — Rabies Elimination which aims to vaccinate at least 70% of all dogs in a defined geographical area annually for three consecutive years.
- Challenges : No centralised database of vaccine availability is maintained and knowledge about vaccines and treatment is still inadequate in India.
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