Story perspectives

India Needs Mass Dog Vaccination, Sterilization to End Rabies

4/28/2026

Summary

Story summary

Santosh Naranapatty, Gen AI Lead at Kaay Labs, urges large-scale vaccination and sterilization to curb India’s stray-dog crisis.
India has about 60 million stray dogs and causes nearly one-third of worldwide rabies deaths.
Naranapatty says mass vaccination is the most effective method to stop rabies spread to animals and people.
He calls for spay-and-neuter, community education, and coordinated government-NGO-veterinary action with long-term funding for nationwide campaigns.

History

Historical Context

In 2005, a rabies epidemic in Bali prompted a massive dog-vaccination campaign that halted human deaths within a year. The Bali government, aided by the World Health Organization and the CDC, immunized over 200,000 dogs, spending roughly $2 million. Similarly, Santosh Naranapatty of Kaay Labs urges India’s Ministry of Health, NGOs, and veterinarians to vaccinate 60 million stray dogs to curb rabies. Achieving nationwide coverage could mirror Bali’s success, reducing India’s share of global rabies deaths from one-third to under ten percent.

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Story summary

Santosh Naranapatty, Gen AI Lead at Kaay Labs, urges large-scale vaccination and sterilization to curb India’s stray-dog crisis.
India has about 60 million stray dogs and causes nearly one-third of worldwide rabies deaths.
Naranapatty says mass vaccination is the most effective method to stop rabies spread to animals and people.
He calls for spay-and-neuter, community education, and coordinated government-NGO-veterinary action with long-term funding for nationwide campaigns.

1 / 2