World Rabies Day

• 29 Sep 2025

Why in News?

On World Rabies Day, health officials in Jharkhand highlighted a sharp surge in dog bite cases, raising public concern over the increased risk of rabies.

• According to data from the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP), over 30,000 dog bite cases were reported till August 2025, with around 1.5 lakh affected and four rabies deaths since 2021.

Key Points

• World Rabies Day (WRD):

  • About: Observed every year on 28th September since 2007, it commemorates Louis Pasteur’s death anniversary, who developed the first rabies vaccine.

    • He was a French chemist, pharmacist, and microbiologist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, microbial fermentation, and pasteurisation.

    • The World Health Organisation (WHO) has set an ambitious goal to eliminate dog-mediated rabies by 2030.

  • Theme: The theme for WRD 2025 is “Act now: You, Me, Community”. 

    • For the first time in its 19-year history, WRD’s theme does not include the word "rabies", showing how well-established the movement has become.

• About Rabies:
  • It is a viral, vaccine-preventable zoonotic disease.
  • It is caused by a Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) virus that is present in the saliva of a rabid animal (dog, cat, monkey, etc).
  • Once clinical symptoms appear, rabies is virtually 100% fatal. The death invariably occurs in four days to two weeks due to cardio-respiratory failure.
  • The first symptoms of rabies may be similar to the flu and may last for a few days.