Acute rabies vaccine shortage in India

Several government hospitals throughout Karnataka, India, have been reporting a shortage of anti-rabies vaccine (ARV), compelling the state government to resort to Big Pharma and private players in the open market.

More than 1,000 people have sought the rabies vaccine in Delhi’s Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, as compared to 200 last year, given the acute lack of supply of the vaccine to state-run hospitals.

Every year, nearly 21,000 people die from the disease in India. Both the vaccine and the rabies immunoglobulin that form the standard treatment are available free of charge at government-run hospitals. But supplies have run out, leaving the government to resort to private players and multinationals.