What is the stray dog situation in Kerala?

Rabies is the 10th biggest cause of death due to infectious diseases worldwide . Out of the total number of Rabies cases, 95% of human Rabies deaths occur in Africa and Asia. Among this, 36% occurs in India.

INDIA

National Multi centric Rabies Survey, conducted in 2003 by the Association for Prevention and Control of Rabies in India in collaboration with the World Health Organization reported that there were 20, 565 deaths from rabies per year in India.More than 10, 00,000 people undergo anti-rabies vaccination every year.

Every two seconds, one person is bitten by a dog in India. It is reported that there are approximately 25 million(2.5 crore) dogs, with an estimated dog: man ratio of 1:36 in India.

KERALA

According to a report submitted in the Supreme Court recently in a connected case, it was stated that more than 1 lakh people in Kerala have been bitten by dogs in 2015-16. The report also said there were about 2.5 lakh street dogs in the state.

The report also said Kerala is estimated to have stray dog population of 2.5 lakh, which feed lavishly on the waste and garbage dumps across cities and towns.

REASONS

1. Kerala Police is known for its excellence hence almost all dog attacks are reported. Kerala has the highest cognizable crime rate. The less number of cases reported in rest of India does not prove that the issue is only in Kerala.
2. Nationwide survey, conducted by the Office of Registrar General & Census Commissioner, reveals that 97% of people in Kerala are non Vegetarians. There is no proper waste management, the dogs feast on this waste.

How Grave is the situation

It is known that $25 million are spent on Post Exposure Prophylaxis in India annually. Around 40% of Post Exposure Prophylaxis is given to children below the age of 15yrs.

Most rabies deaths were in males (62%), in rural areas (91%), and in children below the age of 15 years (50%). As per recent National guidelines for prevention of rabies in India 2013, dogs are responsible for about 97% of human rabies, followed by cats (2%), jackals, mongoose and others (1%). Across Asia the annual expenditure due to rabies is estimated to be reaching 563 million USD.

Reference

1. Why does Kerala have a higher crime rate even though most of the population is well educated?
2. Indian states and territories ranking by crime rate
3. Kerala: More than 100 stray dogs attack and kill 65-year-old woman
4. http://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr...(Cost Analysis of Post Exposure Prophylaxis of Rabies in A Tertiary Care Centre- A Cross Sectional Study)