Nepal's rabies vaccine shortage puts lives at risk

Nepal is grappling with a severe shortage of rabies vaccines, a situation that has persisted since early April and poses a significant public health threat. Animal-bite victims are increasingly unable to access necessary post-exposure prophylaxis at local health facilities, forcing them to travel to specialized centers like Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital (STIDH) in Kathmandu.

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He had received the first dose at a government healthcare centre outside Kathmandu, but the remaining doses were unavailable.

Recent months have seen dozens of victims seeking vaccinations at STIDH after failing to obtain them elsewhere. This scarcity extends to private hospitals and pharmacies across the country. The situation is dire because rabies is invariably fatal once clinical symptoms develop. In Nepal, nearly 100 cases are reported annually, with an estimated 50,000 people seeking post-exposure prophylaxis each year. STIDH alone records an average of over 20 rabies deaths annually, with no patient surviving once the disease is clinically diagnosed.

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In fact, in recent months, dozens of animal-bite victims have visited STIDH after failing to obtain rabies vaccines, previously supplied by the government, from their local health care facilities.

While the World Health Organization notes that dogs cause the vast majority of human rabies infections, and India accounts for a significant portion of global deaths, Nepal's struggle to provide basic vaccines underscores a critical gap in public health implementation. The country has the knowledge to stop rabies, yet the ongoing crisis suggests a failure to translate that knowledge into accessible healthcare, potentially leading to an increase in preventable deaths.

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Rabies remains a major public health concern in Nepal and is invariably fatal once clinical symptoms develop.