One in four rabies deaths in TN caused by pet dogs, show recent data

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 the rest due to attacks by stray dogs (76%).

- SINDUJA JANE @Chennai

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 the 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 emphasise the need for people to take the 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 the 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 attacks, and the remaining 10 were due to attacks by pet dogs.