Rabies deaths in TN rise at fastest pace in last six years as dog-bite cases surge

Chennai: Rabies deaths in Tamil Nadu are rising at their fastest pace in six years, with 17 people killed and 2.65lakh dog-bite cases recorded between Jan and April 2026, according to state public health data. The monthly death toll is now more than twice the average recorded in 2021.The state is averaging more than four rabies deaths a month this year, compared with fewer than three a month in 2025 and fewer than two in 2021. Dog-bite cases are climbing just as sharply: Tamil Nadu is averaging more than 65,000 cases a month in 2026, up from about 52,000 in 2025 and about 26,000 in 2021. That widening gap between exposure and survival is becoming harder to ignore. Between Jan and March 2026, Tamil Nadu reported 1,96,385 dog bites and 13 rabies deaths, against about 1.24lakh dog bites and four rabies deaths in the same period in 2025. In 2025, the state recorded 6.25lakh dog bites and 34 rabies deaths. Between Jan and April this year, all 38 districts reported dog-bite cases. Salem recorded the highest number of cases, at 15,371, while the Nilgiris recorded the lowest, with 1,208. Rabies deaths were reported from 11 districts, with Thiruvarur accounting for the highest toll of four, after recording 6,984 dog-bite cases. Chennai, Tiruvallur and Pudukkottai reported two deaths each, while seven other districts saw one death each. Behind those numbers is a pattern Tamil Nadu's own public health researchers have already documented. A study published in the Tamil Nadu Journal of Public Health and Medical Research in Oct-Dec 2023, based on 121 rabies deaths reported in the state between 2018 and 2022, found that 73.6% of victims did not take post-exposure prophylaxis at all. Among those who did receive anti-rabies vaccination, only one completed the full course, DPH Dr A Somasundram wrote in the study. It identified poor awareness and incomplete treatment as central reasons for the deaths. It found that 83.5% of deaths followed dog bites and that nearly three-fourths involved Category III exposures — bites or scratches that break the skin, or saliva contact on broken skin or mucous membranes — which require both vaccine and rabies immunoglobulin. To address that gap, the state last year ordered round-the-clock anti-rabies vaccination at primary health centres and said nurses on duty should treat bite victims even when doctors were unavailable. The move followed reports that some PHCs, including in Chennai, were limiting vaccination hours, citing wastage from multi-dose vials, and redirecting patients to larger govt hospitals or asking them to return later. "Now, we are making it tighter. Nurses have been told to call all victims, so they complete the course," said joint director of public health (communicable diseases) Dr M Senthil Kumar. Experts say the problem begins even before patients reach hospitals. Weak animal birth control by local bodies, patchy vaccination of community dogs, poor waste management and routine feeding of strays in public spaces have helped sustain large dog populations in urban areas. GCC says it is trying to narrow that gap. 1,47,538 stray dogs were vaccinated in 2025, said GCC veterinary officer J Kamal Hussain. "It will be increased by 20% this year. Sustained vaccination is critical to breaking the transmission cycle of rabies from animals to humans," he added. While GCC points to vax drives, it disputes the city's human toll. Public health records show two rabies deaths in Chennai between Jan and April. But GCC health officer Dr M Jagadeesan said the civic body recorded none. "The cases might have been reported in govt hospitals where patients could have been brought from other districts. No rabies deaths here," he said.