Rabies
Kolkata: More than 30,000 animal-bite patients sought anti-rabies vaccination at KMC clinics in just 10 months last year even as the civic body vaccinated 3,100 street dogs. KMC’s 2026-27 budget shows that 30,688 animal-bite patients received anti-rabies vaccine (ARV) between Jan and Oct 2025, or nearly 3,100 every month. Of them, 5,806 — almost one in five — also required equine rabies immunoglobulin (ERIG), generally administered for severe Category III exposures, said an animal activist working in the field of stray dog immunisation. KMC had vaccinated 15,296 dogs by Dec 14, 2024, against 13,711 in 2023. More than 34,000 bite patients, meanwhile, required vaccination in 2023, while another 34,430 were treated between Jan and Nov 2024. KMC-run Dhapa dog pound — the city’s only govt facility where street dogs are kept for sterilisation, vaccination and treatment — can accommodate only around 250 animals at a time.
Because of technical problems, of 19 sanctioned dog-catcher posts, only nine are presently available, while three of the civic body’s six catching vans are reportedly out of operation. The canine vaccination drive has also lost considerable momentum. The data exposes a widening gap between treating people after bites and preventing rabies at its source.