A 36-year-old man died after he was allegedly administered tetanus injection instead of an anti-rabies vaccine in Gwalior. Raju Kushwaha was bitten by a dog while he was feeding him. Raju was admitted to the Jayarogya Hospital on April 28 where he was undergoing treatment, said a report in the Free Press Journal. He was allegedly given a tetanus injection and not an anti-rabies vaccine after the dog bite. The family said Raju started showing symptoms of rabies, including fear of water about 20 days later. He was admitted to the hospital when his condition worsened, where he succumbed to rabies. This is the seventh rabies death in Gwalior in the last three to four months.
Gwalior reported 13,579 cases of dog bite from December 2025 to April 2026. Of these, 6057 dog bite patients were treated at Jayarogya Hospital, 3772 dog bite patients at Murar District Hospital, and 3750 dog bite patients at Hazira Civil Hospital. Read on to understand what is rabies and why is a tetanus injection ineffective against rabies.
What Is Rabies?Rabies is a vaccine-preventable, zoonotic, viral disease which affects the central nervous system, says the World Health Organization (WHO). Rabies infects mammals, including dogs, cats, livestock and wildlife. It spreads to people and animals via saliva, usually through bites, scratches, or direct contact with mucosa (e.g. eyes, mouth, or open wounds). WHO says, “Once clinical symptoms appear, rabies is virtually 100% fatal.”In up to 99% of the human rabies cases, dogs are responsible for virus transmission through bites and scratches. Children between the age of 5 and 14 years are the usual victims of the viral disease.
How Is A Rabies Vaccine Administered?Rabies vaccine is given post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for unvaccinated individuals via intramuscular (IM) route, typically in the deltoid for adults/children over 2 years or anterolateral thigh for infants. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends a 5-dose schedule, which involves 1 mL doses on days 0, 3, 7, 14, and 28, starting immediately after exposure. Also, a 4-dose regimen (days 0, 3, 7, 14) is used in some guidelines for healthy individuals. It is important to always clean wounds thoroughly first.Rabies Immunoglobulin (RIG). RIG provides immediate passive immunity by neutralising rabies virus at the wound site. This bridges the gap until vaccine-induced antibodies form (around day 7). Human RIG (HRIG) or equine RIG (ERIG) is given as a single dose on day 0, along with the first vaccine dose. Infiltrate as much as possible around/into cleaned wounds. RIG is important for category III exposures (bites/transdermal bites) or category II in immunocompromised patients, but only within 7 days post-exposure.
