Rapid Fire
Rabies as Notifiable Disease
- 06 Jan 2026
- 2 min read
The Delhi government has decided to declare human rabies a notifiable disease under the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, aiming to achieve zero human deaths from dog-mediated rabies.
Notifiable Disease
- About: Notifiable diseases are those legally mandated to be reported to public health authorities under laws like the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897. The primary framework for surveillance is the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP), managed by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
- Implications of Notification: Once a disease is declared notifiable, all healthcare providers (public and private), hospitals, and medical practitioners are legally obligated to report suspected, probable, and confirmed cases to designated authorities, ensuring comprehensive data collection.
- Commonly Notified Diseases: While lists vary state wise, diseases commonly declared notifiable across many states include Tuberculosis, Dengue, Malaria, Cholera, Hepatitis, Measles, Leptospirosis, and Polio. Covid-19 was universally declared notifiable during the pandemic.
- Recent examples of newly notified diseases include snakebite in 2024 and human rabies in 2025.
- Decentralized and Non-Uniform System: India lacks a single, uniform national list of notifiable diseases. The authority to declare a disease notifiable rests primarily with state/UT (with legislative assembly) governments, leading to variations in the list of diseases across different states and union territories.
- Global Commitment: The International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR) under the World Health Organization (WHO) are a legally binding international law that require memeber countries to inform the WHO about public health risks or events that may have international health implications, irrespective of their origin or source.
| Read More: Rabies in India |
