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Bihar Records 283,000 Dog Bites in 2024‑25, 38,900 Rise Over Prior Year

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State Survey Shows Sharp Increase in Dog Bite Incidents The Bihar Economic Survey 2025‑26, released on 2 February 2026, documents 283,000 reported dog‑bite cases for the fiscal year 2024‑25 [1]. This figure represents an increase of 38,900 bites compared with the previous year [1]. The surge places dog bites as the most common health issue recorded in the survey [1]. The data were compiled by the state health department and published as part of the annual economic review [1].

Patna Leads Districts with Highest Bite Count Patna reported the largest number of incidents, with 29,280 bites in 2024‑25 [1]. East Champaran followed with 24,452 cases and Nalanda with 19,637 [1]. The district with the fewest bites was Aurangabad, recording only 467 cases, while Arwal and Khagaria reported 1,207 and 1,565 respectively [1]. These district‑level variations highlight concentrated hotspots in urban and semi‑urban areas [1].

Other Illnesses Remain Far Less Prevalent Than Bites Acute respiratory infection/influenza‑like illness ranked second with 31,025 cases, still far below the dog‑bite total [1]. Malaria (29,198), typhoid (23,976), dysentery (19,929), diarrhoeal disease (18,128) and viral hepatitis (1,208) followed in descending order [1]. Patna‑based activist Arpita Bose attributed the surge to fear or provocation of stray animals [1]. Veterinarian Amresh Kumar declined to comment on the statistics, emphasizing his focus on treating injured stray animals [1].

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Timeline

May 2023 – A 59‑year‑old man in Assam dies after being bitten by an unvaccinated neighbour’s puppy; he receives delayed post‑exposure prophylaxis and costly rabies immunoglobulin, illustrating how financial barriers and hospital delays can be fatal [3].

2023 – India enacts the Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023, mandating sterilisation and vaccination of stray dogs to curb the growing canine population [4].

Aug 2024 – The Supreme Court issues directives to states to curb stray dogs and rabies, ordering removal, sterilisation, vaccination and sheltering of free‑roaming dogs [4].

Mar 2025 – Maharashtra’s state government issues orders under the 2023 Animal Birth Control Rules, instructing urban and rural bodies to implement dog‑birth‑control and anti‑rabies vaccination programmes [4].

Apr – Sept 2025 – Delhi vaccinates 54,623 stray dogs as part of its stray‑dog management effort, a response to earlier Supreme Court scrutiny of dog‑bite incidents [2].

Jul 2025 – Delhi records 26,334 dog‑bite cases and 26 confirmed human rabies cases, underscoring the urgent need for stronger surveillance and prevention measures [2].

Nov 2025 – The Supreme Court directs all states to remove stray dogs from public spaces, sterilise and vaccinate them, and house them in shelters, heightening pressure on state governments to scale up rabies control [3].

Dec 10, 2025 – Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde tells the state assembly that the state averages 1,369 dog bites per day (over 30 lakh in six years) and reports 30 rabies deaths between 2021‑2023, urging intensified animal‑birth‑control and vaccination programmes [4].

Dec 26, 2025 – A Lancet Infectious Diseases study of 337,808 dog‑bite victims across 60 districts finds 20.5 % receive no anti‑rabies vaccine and 49 % who start a course fail to complete it; the study highlights severe shortages of rabies immunoglobulin and a national production gap of 10 million vaccine doses [3].

Jan 4, 2026 – Delhi’s health minister announces that rabies will be declared a notifiable disease, requiring all public and private health facilities to report suspected, probable and confirmed cases immediately, aiming to achieve zero human rabies deaths [2].

Feb 2, 2026 – Bihar releases its 2025‑26 Economic Survey, reporting 283,000 dog‑bite incidents in FY 2024‑25 (up 38,900 from the prior year) with Patna accounting for the highest count (29,280); activist Arpita Bose attributes the surge to fear‑induced attacks on stray dogs, while veterinarian Amresh Kumar declines comment, asking “What can I say over this?” [1].

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