New steps in the control of canine rabies in India.

In India, about 20,000 people die of rabies every year. The dog is the main reservoir and transmitter of the disease. A pilot rabies control programme was launched in five Indian federal states in February, 2007. This initiative is led by the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) federating many animal welfare organizations and the Ministry of Agriculture. It aims at creating a "Rabies Free India." The programme combines parenteral vaccination of accessible owned and stray dogs, spaying/neutering followed by parenteral vaccination and oral vaccination of inaccessible dogs. The freeze-dried vaccine SAG2, including the bait casing, was registered in India following successful evaluation of vaccine-bait safety and efficacy (by survival after virulent challenge) in captive Indian stray dogs in the Bhopal High Security Animal Disease Laboratory. Furthermore, bait acceptance was tested under both experimental and field conditions.