Rabies in India: road map to elimination

Rabies is a fatal viral zoonoses caused by lyssa virus of Rhabdoviridae family and remains a significant public health challenge in India despite being 100% preventable. India accounts for approximately 36% of global rabies deaths, with an estimated 18,000–20,000 human fatalities annually. The burden is disproportionately borne by children, rural populations, and socio-economically vulnerable groups. Although effective vaccines and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) prevail, elimination is hampered by fragmented governance, inadequate mass dog vaccination, poor surveillance, and behavioral approaches.The World Rabies Day 2026 theme, “Stronger Together”, emphasizes that rabies elimination requires coordinated action across human health, animal health, municipal governance, and communities under a One Health framework. This review analyzes the current epidemiological scenario in India for 2025-2026, evaluates national programs including National Action Plan for Rabies Elimination and Animal Birth Control Rules 2023, examines recent Supreme Court interventions, and identifies implementation gaps. It is proposed that to achieve WHO’s “Zero by 30” goal zero human deaths from dog-mediated rabies by 2030, it is mandatory to increase mass dog vaccination to 70%, ensure universal PEP access, enforce ABC, and strengthen inter-sectoral collaborations.