An epidemiological study of 177 cases of human rabies.

Of the 177 rabies patients admitted to various hospitals in Amritsar city, 80.8% were males and 31.1% were children under the age of 15 years. Incidence was found to be gradually increasing in urban areas, although 68.2% were still found in rural areas. History of second or third degree bites existed in all the cases. Dogs were the source of exposure in 97.3% of cases and they were all suspected of having rabies. 49.1% of cases had bites on the lower extremities and 70.8% were on uncovered parts of the body. The incubation period was observed to be between 30 and 120 days in 61.8% of cases; 90.0% of the patients developed the disease within six months of exposure. Short incubation periods were observed in a majority of the patients bitten on more than one part of the body, head, neck and face or bitten on uncovered parts. Hydrophobia and death occurred in 100% of cases and 93.4% of patients died within five days. Post-exposure injections were reported in 10.2% of cases and these showed no definite incubation period pattern.