H&ME Deptt declares rabies notifiable disease

Srinagar, May 30: To strengthen surveillance and control measures, the Health and Medical Education (H&ME) Department has officially declared human rabies a notifiable disease in J&K.

“In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 2 of the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 (Act No 3 of 1897), the Lieutenant Governor of J&K hereby declares 'human rabies' as a 'notifiable disease' in J&K,” reads an official order issued by Secretary, Health and Medical Education, Syed Abid Rasheed Shah.

In this regard, all suspected, probable, and confirmed cases of human rabies have to be reported to the Chief Medical Officer of the concerned district and the State Nodal Officer of the National Rabies Control Program (NRCP).

Rabies is an acute virus that affects all warm-blooded animals including humans and is caused by animal bites having extremely high fatality rate.

According to the notification, to achieve the WHO goal of zero deaths due to human rabies, it is important to establish a strong surveillance and disease reporting system so that the exact magnitude of the disease can be assured.

This decision follows a directive from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, which in a letter dated September 20, 2021, urged all states and union territories to make human rabies a notifiable disease.

“The goal is to ensure mandatory reporting from all healthcare facilities, enabling effective contact tracing and timely prophylactic measures to prevent further infections,” the notification said.

HOD Community Medicine, GMC, Dr Muhammad Saleem Khan told Greater Kashmir that rabies notification was a positive step towards disease surveillance and control.

“Rabies deaths usually go unreported, and there has never been actual data on rabies cases and deaths, as these cases were reported as suspected deaths in different hospitals. The data was never collected and collated before the implementation of the NRCP,” he said.

Dr Khan said that with the notification of rabies, all cases will be reported, which will provide the exact details of the burden of rabies in J&K, as the country currently has the highest number of rabies cases in the world, and J&K would have its proportionate share.

“There is an urgent need to sensitise healthcare professionals about rabies epidemiology, disease transmission, diagnosis, and management,” he said.

India bears a significant burden of rabies, accounting for 59.9 percent of rabies deaths in Asia and 35 percent globally.