Nearly 5 lakh dog bites, 19 rabies death recorded in Maharashtra in 3 months | Mumbai News

In 2025, 15,19,913 dog bites were recorded and 33 rabies deaths happened in Ahilyanagar (6), Akola (2), Chandrapur (2), Gondia (1), Kolhapur (1), Latur (2), Nanded (1), Nandurbar (1), Palghar (1), Pune (10), Raigad (1), Satara (2), Thane (2) and Yavatmal (1).

In 2024, Maharashtra recorded 11,41,688 dog bite cases and 23 rabies deaths in Jalna (1), Kolhapur (5), Palghar (1), Pune (8), Sangli (2), Satara (2), Sindhudurg (1), Solapur (2) and Thane (1).

Dr Sandeep Sangle, Joint Director at the Commissionerate of Health Services, Pune, said that dog bite cases across India, are monitored through the Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP), a platform for real-time reporting of animal bites and rabies cases and that State Public Health Department tracks it consistently through an established reporting structure.

“Every Primary Health Centres, rural and district hospitals, has adequate stock of anti-rabies vaccine (ARV). In most rabies’ deaths, we have observed persistent gaps in timely care. With ongoing sterilisation and vaccination drives, it is difficult to conclude whether cases are rising or falling. More people are now seeking medical care, allowing better documentation. We are continuously working to raise awareness, urging people to seek timely treatment even in cases of minor scratches.”

Data from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) shows that Mumbai recorded 53,020 dog bite cases in 2020, which rose to 61,332 in 2021, 78,756 in 2022, and 96,757 in 2023. The numbers increased further to 1,28,000 in 2024 and 1,30,000 in 2025, marking a near doubling of cases in five years.

In December 2025, six-year-old Nisha Nathuram Shinde from Diva, Thane, died after developing rabies encephalitis despite receiving anti-rabies vaccination following a Category III dog bite. She had been administered vaccines and immunoglobulin as per protocol but developed symptoms before her final dose and later succumbed during treatment at Kasturba Hospital.

Rabies encephalitis is a fatal infection of the brain caused by the rabies virus, while a Category III exposure refers to severe bites or scratches that break the skin and require immediate vaccination along with rabies immunoglobulin for protection. Dr Prasad Patil, Chief Medical Health Officer at the Thane Municipal Corporation, said, “Rabies is very much preventable, but not curable. This is the rarest of rare cases. In two decades, I have seen such a case for the third time. If vaccines and immunoglobulin are given in time, the virus usually has no chance to reach the brain. But in very rare situations, if the virus reaches the brain before the vaccine acts, infection can still occur,” he said.

There is a 99.9 % guarantee that a person survives a dog bite if the vaccine and immunoglobulin are administered in time, Dr Patil added, “We are conducting a detailed study into such rare cases and will publish our findings in about six months.”

Dr. Deepa Shukla, Chief Medical Officer at the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation, said that 1,29,479 people received anti-rabies vaccination between January 2021 and February 2026 in her jurisdiction alone. There are 90,000 stray dogs in the region.

The rise in cases is also evident in the Vasai Virar Municipal Corporation (VVCMC) as data shows 11,630 cases in 2020, 11,508 in 2021, to 17,674 in 2022, 30,243 in 2023, 36,677 in 2024, and 46,354 in 2025. In January and February 2026, 10,120 cases of dog bites were recorded.

Dr. Bhakti Chaudhary, Medical Officer of Health, VVCMC, cited a recent fatality in Nalasopara, “Five months ago, a nine-year-old girl was scratched by a stray dog and did not take treatment as she was afraid of injections. As the wound appeared to heal, the family assumed it healed itself. In mid-March, she developed fever and other symptoms and was taken to Kasturba Hospital where she died on March 22”.

The BMC undertook a 10-year (2014–2024) Street Dog Population Management and Sterilisation Impact study in partnership with Humane Society International India to assess trends and guide policy. Dr. Kalimpasha Pathan, head of veterinary services, BMC, said, “In 2014, the stray dog population in Mumbai was 95,172, which will be reduced to 90,757 in 2024. From January 2023 to March 2026, a total of 63,137 dogs were sterilised as part of the ongoing programme.”

“Just like not every mosquito carries malaria, not every dog carries rabies,” Dr. Patil said, adding that infection occurs only when a person comes in contact with a rabid animal.