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HealthQuiet 13d · day 17

Study: Dog vaccination more effective than child rabies shots in Kerala

Research argues targeting dogs prevents more deaths than routine pre-exposure prophylaxis for children.

newest coverage 13d agosummary written 11d ago4 pieces NewswiresGoogle News

What to know

  • A new cost-effectiveness study argues dog vaccination is far more effective than routine rabies shots for children: 83% death reduction vs. only 10 additional deaths prevented over 10 years.
  • Scaling dog vaccination to 70% coverage could eliminate human rabies deaths in Kerala within three years, versus childhood pre-exposure prophylaxis costing $10.5–36.5 million with minimal impact.
  • The study does not rule out pre-exposure prophylaxis entirely, but argues it is better targeted to high-risk populations with difficult healthcare access rather than as a universal childhood strategy.
  • Kerala already has intensive rabies prevention with over 900,000 people receiving post-bite treatment annually and 90% PEP completion rates, yet 33 deaths were reported in 2025.

“routine childhood PrEP—vaccinating children against rabies before any animal exposure — would prevent only about 10 additional deaths over 10 years, while adding an estimated $10.5 million to $36.5 million to healthcare costs.”

The Lancet Regional Health – Southeast Asia study, Published research · The Hindu ↗ · Sep 11

University of Glasgow Lead research institutionDirectorate of Medical Education, Kerala University of Health Sciences Collaborating research partnerKerala paediatricians and public health experts Advocates for childhood PrEP

Study: Dog vaccination more effective than child rabies shots in Kerala
The Hindu National

How it unfolded 2 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articles

Peak 2 pieces in 4h at Sep 8, 6 AM; 4 pieces over 17 days (4 articles) Sep 8, 6 AM — 2 pieces · 2 articles — Google News 1, Newswires 1Sep 8, 10 AM — quietSep 8, 2 PM — quietSep 8, 6 PM — quietSep 8, 10 PM — quietSep 9, 2 AM — quietSep 9, 6 AM — quietSep 9, 10 AM — quietSep 9, 2 PM — quietSep 9, 6 PM — quietSep 9, 10 PM — quietSep 10, 2 AM — quietSep 10, 6 AM — quietSep 10, 10 AM — quietSep 10, 2 PM — quietSep 10, 6 PM — quietSep 10, 10 PM — quietSep 11, 2 AM — quietSep 11, 6 AM — quietSep 11, 10 AM — quietSep 11, 2 PM — quietSep 11, 6 PM — quietSep 11, 10 PM — 2 pieces · 2 articles — Newswires 2Sep 12, 2 AM — quietSep 12, 6 AM — quietSep 12, 10 AM — quietSep 12, 2 PM — quietSep 12, 6 PM — quietSep 12, 10 PM — quietSep 13, 2 AM — quietSep 13, 6 AM — quietSep 13, 10 AM — quietSep 13, 2 PM — quietSep 13, 6 PM — quietSep 13, 10 PM — quietSep 14, 2 AM — quietSep 14, 6 AM — quietSep 14, 10 AM — quietSep 14, 2 PM — quietSep 14, 6 PM — quietSep 14, 10 PM — quietSep 15, 2 AM — quietSep 15, 6 AM — quietSep 15, 10 AM — quietSep 15, 2 PM — quietSep 15, 6 PM — quietSep 15, 10 PM — quietSep 16, 2 AM — quietSep 16, 6 AM — quietSep 16, 10 AM — quietSep 16, 2 PM — quietSep 16, 6 PM — quietSep 16, 10 PM — quietSep 17, 2 AM — quietSep 17, 6 AM — quietSep 17, 10 AM — quietSep 17, 2 PM — quietSep 17, 6 PM — quietSep 17, 10 PM — quietSep 18, 2 AM — quietSep 18, 6 AM — quietSep 18, 10 AM — quietSep 18, 2 PM — quietSep 18, 6 PM — quietSep 18, 10 PM — quietSep 19, 2 AM — quietSep 19, 6 AM — quietSep 19, 10 AM — quietSep 19, 2 PM — quietSep 19, 6 PM — quietSep 19, 10 PM — quietSep 20, 2 AM — quietSep 20, 6 AM — quietSep 20, 10 AM — quietSep 20, 2 PM — quietSep 20, 6 PM — quietSep 20, 10 PM — quietSep 21, 2 AM — quietSep 21, 6 AM — quietSep 21, 10 AM — quietSep 21, 2 PM — quietSep 21, 6 PM — quietSep 21, 10 PM — quietSep 22, 2 AM — quietSep 22, 6 AM — quietSep 22, 10 AM — quietSep 22, 2 PM — quietSep 22, 6 PM — quietSep 22, 10 PM — quietSep 23, 2 AM — quietSep 23, 6 AM — quietSep 23, 10 AM — quietSep 23, 2 PM — quietSep 23, 6 PM — quietSep 23, 10 PM — quietYesterday, 2 AM — quietYesterday, 6 AM — quietYesterday, 10 AM — quietYesterday, 2 PM — quietYesterday, 6 PM — quietYesterday, 10 PM — quietToday, 2 AM — quietToday, 6 AM — quietToday, 10 AM — quiet 12
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  1. background

    Study argues dog vaccination targets virus at source while PrEP addresses symptoms — The research positions dog vaccination as a population-level strategy that stops virus transmission in the community, while noting that Kerala's strong access to post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) means universal childhood PrEP would produce relatively little additional mortality reduction relative to its cost. The study leaves room for PrEP in high-risk populations with barriers to rapid healthcare access.

  2. 2

    Study details show dog vaccination prevents far more deaths than childhood PrEP

    Research led by the University of Glasgow and published in The Lancet Regional Health – Southeast Asia shows that comprehensive dog vaccination combined with improved post-bite treatment could reduce rabies deaths by 83% compared to current strategy. Childhood PrEP would prevent only 10 additional deaths over 10 years while costing $10.5–36.5 million. Scaling dog vaccination to 70% coverage could potentially eliminate human rabies deaths in Kerala within three years.

    “Scaling up vaccination of both owned and free-roaming dogs to 70% coverage could potentially bring human rabies deaths down to zero in Keralam within three years, according to the model.”
    — The Lancet Regional Health – Southeast Asia study
    1. 2 outlets Dog vaccination could save more lives than routine child PrEP in Keralam, says study

      first by The Hindu National, 13d ago · also The Hindu

  3. 3 days quiet
  4. 1

    University of Glasgow study on rabies prevention strategies released

    A new cost-effectiveness study finds that expanding dog vaccination, rather than introducing routine pre-exposure vaccination for children, is the most effective and cost-effective way to eliminate rabies deaths in Kerala, India.

    “comprehensive vaccination of dogs, combined with improved post-bite treatment and efforts to close gaps in PEP, could reduce rabies deaths by 83% compared to the current strategy…”
    — The Lancet Regional Health – Southeast Asia study, Published research · source