The Supreme Court on Monday (October 31) issued a notice to the Central Government in a plea seeking the efficacy of the current rabies vaccines in India.
The plea was heard by Honourable Justice Ajay Rastogi and Honourable Justice C T Ravikumar.
The petition had filed by Kerala Pravasi Association, seeking a direction to constitute an independent expert committee to study the efficacy of the Intra Dermal Rabies Vaccines (IDRVs), which is currently being administered to humans. The plea was filed on account of a number of deaths despite timely administration of the vaccines in the country.
The petition, which was filed by Dr. Rajendran Vellapalath, chairman of Kerala Pravasi Association and Ms. Aswani Nambarambath, also seeks constitution of an independent expert committee to study the effectiveness of the Rabies Veterinary Vaccine administered to dogs in India, given the rise in the number of rabies cases.
Citing recent incidents where people bitten by dogs succumbed to rabies, despite post-exposure prophylaxis, the plea raises questions on the current treatment protocol, according to a Press release shared by Rajendran Vellapalath, the chairman of Kerala Pravasi Association.
“As per the guidance note issued by National Centre for Disease Control, manufacturing of Rabies vaccine for humans, being a complex process, needs a minimum of three to four months for manufacturing and testing. Shockingly, there have been instances where the vaccine has reached Kerala State within 14 days of manufacture. Non-adherence to the requisite quality checks would be a direct violation of Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India, apart from violations of provisions under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Rules thereunder,” the plea reads.
It has also been submitted that the rise in the number of rabies-infected dogs is a matter of concern, which necessitates an enquiry into the quality of anti-rabies vaccines administered to dogs.
Eliminating the risk of rabies at its source i.e., dogs, is the most effective measure to curtail the spread of rabies, the plea adds.
“The experts suggest that human rabies is a 100% vaccine preventable disease, and the vaccines are considered to be ‘’highly effective, safe and tolerated”. Perforce, without vaccination, rabies is a fatal disease. While improper administration of IDRV is stated to be a possible reason for failure of the medicine in some cases, the recent deaths points towards the very efficacy of the vaccine,” the plea states.
