Rabies Deaths Rise in Kathmandu Due to Vaccine Shortage

Kathmandu. Citizens are losing their lives to rabies even in the capital Kathmandu due to the government's failure to supply vaccines on time and the ineffectiveness of the vaccination program.

Last Saturday, a 48-year-old man from Chandragiri Municipality died during treatment at Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital in Teku. According to the hospital, the person was bitten by a dog about four months ago, but he had not received the anti-rabies vaccine. 

He was admitted to the hospital only last Friday, informed Dr. Sher Bahadur Pun of Teku Hospital. By the time he reached the hospital, he was showing severe symptoms of rabies, such as fear of air and water. He died during treatment because he did not get vaccinated for a long time after being bitten by a dog.

According to the records section of Teku Hospital, 55 people have died due to rabies in the last five years. According to available data, 4 people died in 2022, 6 in 2023, and 19 in 2024. Similarly, as of today in 2026, 4 people have died. 

Extreme Shortage of Vaccines

There is currently an extreme shortage of anti-rabies vaccines in hospitals across the country. According to government data, there are only 14,474 vials of rabies vaccine in stock nationwide. Due to the low stock, hospitals are managing to provide vaccines with great difficulty. 

According to the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division, rabies is a communicable disease transmitted from the bite of a rabid animal. This disease is mainly transmitted through the saliva of rabid animals. The disease can also be transmitted if a rabid animal licks a wound or if its saliva comes into contact with broken skin, mouth, or nose. It is still considered a neglected disease in the world. 

According to Teku Hospital's data, 95 percent of those who come for rabies vaccination are due to dog bites. Sterilization and regular vaccination of dogs are mandatory for rabies control, but the government does not have an integrated database of dogs nationwide. According to Karan Bahadur Kathayat, animal husbandry development officer of Chandragiri Municipality, there are an estimated two thousand dogs in that municipality, but an exact count has not been collected. 

The situation in Lalitpur Metropolitan City is similar. According to veterinarian Rajendra Bisht, there are about 10,000 dogs in Lalitpur, of which only 2,000 community dogs have been vaccinated through the sterilization program. He said that it is not possible to vaccinate all of them because it is difficult to catch dogs. 

It is estimated that there are about 22,000 dogs in Kathmandu Metropolitan City. Although 18,000 dogs were vaccinated in the fiscal year 2081/82, it is unclear whether they were revaccinated afterwards. NurNidhi Neupane, information officer of the metropolis, claimed that vaccination and sterilization have been continuously carried out for the last two years. He informed that 6,000 dogs were sterilized by the end of Baishakh, and in the last fiscal year, only 12,000 dogs were vaccinated without sterilization due to budget constraints. 

Other Animals and International Goal

Rabies is transmitted not only by dogs but also by other animals. About 2 percent of patients who come to the hospital for vaccination are bitten by monkeys, and 1 percent by cats. In Southeast Asia, 96 percent of rabies is transmitted by dog bites. Nepal has set a goal to reduce human deaths due to rabies transmitted by dogs to zero by 2030, but the shortage of vaccines and weak management pose challenges to this goal. 

Procurement Process and Supply Delays

There is a severe shortage of vaccines in district-level hospitals. According to Hemant Khanal, information officer at Methinkot Hospital in Kavre, the hospital cannot purchase vaccines independently and is forced to rely on the District Public Health Office. 

Dr. Anuj Bhattachan, acting Director General of the Department of Health Services, said that efforts are being made to prevent vaccine shortages. He claimed that the vaccine procurement process has reached the final stage under the third attempt. According to the Management Division, contracts have been awarded for the supply of vaccines worth Rs 169.8 million in the current fiscal year. Tenders have been made for 234,000 vials (1 ml) and 190,000 vials (0.5 ml) of vaccines, but it is uncertain when these vaccines will arrive in Nepal. 

Expert Advice and Symptoms

Infectious disease specialist Dr. Pun advised not to be negligent after being bitten by a dog. "Even if the wound is small, it should not be ignored; vaccination should be done as soon as possible," he said. It can take from a few days to several months for rabies symptoms to appear, but once symptoms appear, there is a possibility of death within 1 to 7 days. 

Symptoms in animals; biting without reason, eating unusual objects, running erratically, barking in a hoarse voice or being unable to bark, and excessive salivation. Symptoms in humans; itching or pain at the bite wound, fever, headache and muscle pain, fear of water, air, and loud noises, intolerance to bright light, and aggression. 

In the final stage, symptoms such as contraction of the neck muscles upon seeing water appear.

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