Deaths from rabies caused by dog bites have been taking place in a disaggregated way across the country. In the absence of centrallized information, a reliable number is not available. Based on reports in regional and national newspapers, Civil Society has made a rough count and found that between February this year and August 2025, roughly a period of six months, there were reports of 19 deaths.

The collation is not scientific and the period has been arbitrarily chosen. The idea is to have some indication of the extent of the problem. It is certain, however, from the news reports that the deaths took place. It is also logical to infer from this rough count that there could be more deaths that aren’t getting reported. Equally, there could be more or fewer deaths in different periods. The population of stray dogs has been increasing, as is well known, and so also there has been vulnerability to bites and rabies.