'Serious Issue' : Supreme Court On Plea To Examine Efficacy Of Anti-Rabies Vaccines; Seeks Responses Of Union, Kerala Govts

The bench comprising Justices CT Ravikumar and Rajesh Bindal ordered:

“Taking note of the seriousness of the issue involved, we request ASG... and Standing Counsel of Kerala to get instructions and file a response expeditiously, at any rate, within a period of four weeks from today."

Initially, a Bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and CT Ravikumar on October 31, 2022, had issued notice on this petition. Pursuant to this, the matter was listed on July 06, 2023, wherein the State of Kerela was added as a respondent party.

The petition filed by the Kerala Pravasi Association also seeks the constitution of an independent expert committee to study the effectiveness of the Rabies Veterinary Vaccine administered to dogs in India, given the rise in rabies cases.

The plea has been filed in the backdrop of several persons who were bitten by dogs, succumbing to rabies, despite post-exposure prophylaxis. Petitioner, in its plea, has averred that these deaths have posed several questions regarding the treatment protocol and, more importantly, the efficacy of the vaccines.

“As per the guidance note issued by the National Centre for Disease Control, manufacturing of Rabies vaccine for humans, being a complex process, needs a minimum of three to four months for manufacturing and testing.”

However, it reveals that there have been instances where the vaccine has reached the State within 14 days of manufacture.

“Non-adherence to the requisite quality checks would be a direct violation of Articles 14, 19, and 21 of the Constitution of India, apart from violations of provisions under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Rules thereunder,” the plea elaborates.

However, the plea reveals that there have been instances where the vaccine has reached the State within 14 days of manufacture.

It has also been submitted that the rise in the number of rabies-infected dogs is also a matter of concern. Thus, this calls for an enquiry into the quality of anti-rabies vaccines administered to dogs. It is the petitioner's case that eliminating the risk of rabies at its source, i.e., dogs is the most effective measure to curtail the spread of rabies.

Apart from setting up an expert committee, the petitioners also prayed for wide publicity and to ensure proper and uniform implementation of the National Guidelines for Rabies Prophylaxis, 2019, with appropriate revisions from time to time per the latest developments endorsed by WHO.

Case Title: Kerala Pravasi Association through its President Versus Union of India and Anr., W.P.(C) No. 882/2022., Diary No.- 31222 - 2022