What is rabies vaccine?
Updated By PetymFacts checked against official sources on
Quick answer
The rabies vaccine protects dogs and cats against rabies, a virus that is almost always fatal once signs appear and that dogs pass to people in up to 99% of human cases. Rabies is endemic across India, so the vaccine is core for both. The first dose is given at 12 weeks or older.
Also called anti-rabies vaccine, ARV, rabies shot, rabies vaccination, anti-rabies vaccination certificate.
Key facts
- Once clinical symptoms appear, rabies is virtually 100% fatal. World Health Organization
- Dogs are responsible for virus transmission in up to 99% of human rabies cases. World Health Organization
- Mass dog vaccination is the most cost-effective way to prevent rabies in people. World Health Organization
- Rabies is endemic in every Indian state and union territory except the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep. Indian Journal of Public Health (2019)study
- Canine rabies vaccines with either a 1-year or a 3-year duration of immunity exist; local law decides the booster interval first. WSAVAstudy
- Delhi's MCD pet dog registration lasts at most a year and ends when the dog's anti-rabies vaccination expires. Municipal Corporation of Delhi
When is the rabies vaccine given?
A typical course for a puppy or kitten in India. Follow your vet and the vaccine leaflet.
12 weeks or older
First dose. WSAVA notes that in some countries it is not given before 12 weeks of age. WSAVAstudy
21 days after the first dose
ICAR-IVRI's leaflet adds a second dose. A TANUVAS study found two doses kept antibodies higher. WSAVA's schedule does not include it. ICAR-IVRI
1 year later
A booster at 1 year of age, or 1 year after the first course, is required everywhere. WSAVAstudy
Every year after
India's National Centre for Disease Control and ICAR-IVRI advise vaccinating pets every year. ICAR-IVRI
Why is the rabies vaccine core in India?
Because the disease is everywhere except two island territories, and it kills. The World Health Organization estimates rabies causes 44,203 human deaths a year worldwide, mostly in Asia and Africa, and the true figure is likely higher. India's National Action Plan aims to eliminate dog-mediated rabies by 2030, and vaccinating dogs is the centre of that plan.
WSAVA treats rabies vaccine as core for dogs and cats wherever rabies is endemic, even where no law requires it. Cats count: an indoor cat can still be bitten by an animal that gets into the home, and WSAVA advises all cats in rabies-endemic areas such as India be vaccinated.
Is a yearly rabies booster needed, or every 3 years?
Both kinds of vaccine exist. WSAVA says the timing of boosters is set by the licensed duration of immunity, and in some areas by law, and warns that a locally made vaccine licensed for 1 year should not be assumed to work for 3. India's NCDC and ICAR-IVRI advise yearly vaccination of pets, so a yearly booster is the usual advice in India.
Your city's rules matter too. Delhi's MCD registration ends when the anti-rabies vaccination expires, and Mumbai's BMC licence application asks for rabies and leptospirosis certificates signed and stamped by a registered vet. Give boosters at least as often as your vet and your city require.
What if a vaccinated pet is bitten?
Call your vet the same day, with the vaccination card to hand; the vet decides what the pet needs. If a person is bitten or scratched, WHO advises washing the wound with soap and water for at least 15 minutes straight away, then going to a doctor or government hospital for post-exposure treatment without delay.
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Questions owners ask
At what age should a puppy get the rabies vaccine in India?
- At 12 weeks or older. ICAR-IVRI's leaflet adds a second dose 21 days after the first, which WSAVA's schedule does not include, then a booster at 1 year and yearly after that. Your vet will follow the vaccine leaflet and local rules.
Do indoor cats in India need the rabies vaccine?
- Yes. WSAVA advises that all cats in rabies-endemic areas be vaccinated, and rabies is endemic across India except the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep. A single bite from an infected animal that gets into the home is enough, and the disease is almost always fatal once signs appear.
How long does the rabies vaccine last in dogs?
- Licensed products last either 1 or 3 years, and WSAVA says a locally made 1-year vaccine should not be assumed to last 3. India's NCDC and ICAR-IVRI advise yearly vaccination of pets, and Delhi's registration ends when the vaccination expires, so a yearly booster is the usual advice.
Is the rabies vaccine compulsory for pet dogs in India?
- Petym found no national law requiring it, but city licensing systems ask for it. Delhi's MCD wants an anti-rabies certificate for registration, and Mumbai's BMC wants rabies and leptospirosis certificates. Airlines, boarding sitters and the countries pets most often move to also ask for it.
Keep reading
Related terms
More in vaccines and parasites
- BabesiosisBabesiosis is a disease of dogs caused by Babesia, tiny parasites that live in and destroy red blood cells. It is spread mainly by ticks, and in India one species, Babesia gibsoni, also spreads through dog fights and blood transfusions. Signs are anaemia with pale gums, weakness, jaundice and red or brown urine. Dogs that recover can relapse.
- Booster vaccineA booster is a repeat dose of a vaccine that tops up or confirms a pet's protection. Puppies and kittens get a booster at about 26 weeks after their first course. After that, modern core vaccines for distemper, parvovirus and panleukopenia protect for years, while leptospirosis, kennel cough and most killed vaccines need a booster every year.
- Brown dog tickThe brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus, is the most common tick on dogs in the tropics, including India. Unlike most ticks it lives and breeds indoors, in homes and kennels, as well as outdoors. It spreads ehrlichiosis and one form of babesiosis, the infections Indian owners call tick fever, so tick control is needed all year.
- Core vaccinesCore vaccines are the vaccines every dog or cat should have, wherever it lives, because they protect against widespread, serious diseases. For dogs they cover distemper, adenovirus and parvovirus; for cats, panleukopenia, herpesvirus and calicivirus. In India rabies is core for both, and WSAVA also treats leptospirosis vaccine as core for dogs where the disease is endemic.
- DewormingDeworming is giving a pet medicine, chosen by your vet, to kill intestinal worms such as roundworms, hookworms and tapeworms. Puppies can be born with roundworms and catch more from their mother's milk, so deworming starts in the first weeks of life. Some dog and cat worms can infect people, especially children, so regular deworming protects the family too.
- DHPPi vaccineDHPPi is the combined core vaccine for dogs printed on many Indian vaccine cards. The letters stand for distemper (D), hepatitis from canine adenovirus (H), parvovirus (P) and parainfluenza (Pi). DHPPiL adds leptospirosis (L). It is the same vaccine group that US cards call DHPP or DA2PP, and puppies start it at 6 to 8 weeks.
- EhrlichiosisEhrlichiosis is a disease of dogs caused by Ehrlichia canis, a bacterium carried by the brown dog tick. Signs appear 1 to 3 weeks after infection: fever, dullness, bleeding such as nosebleeds or bruising, and enlarged lymph nodes. Some dogs seem to recover but carry the infection silently and later develop a severe chronic form.
- Flea and tick preventionFlea and tick prevention means regularly protecting a pet from these parasites with a product your vet recommends, plus checking the coat and treating the home. Tropical guidelines say dogs and cats in places like India should be protected all year, including indoor pets. Use products licensed for the species, and never put a dog product on a cat.
- FleasFleas are small, wingless, blood-feeding insects. The cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis, is the most common flea on dogs and cats worldwide, and the main flea on dogs studied in India. Fleas cause itching, flea allergy, tapeworm and, in heavy infestations, anaemia in puppies and kittens. Most of the flea life cycle happens in the home.
- FVRCP vaccineFVRCP is the core combined vaccine for cats. It protects against feline viral rhinotracheitis (herpesvirus), calicivirus and panleukopenia. Indian cards often show a brand name from the vial sticker instead, such as Tricat. Kittens start at 6 to 8 weeks, with doses every 2 to 4 weeks until 16 weeks or older, then a booster at about 26 weeks.
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Sources
Each source was opened and read on the date shown. How Petym checks its sources
- World Health Organization: Rabies: fact sheet (opens in a new tab)
- Municipal Corporation of Delhi: Standard operating procedure for pet dog registration (opens in a new tab)
- ICAR-IVRI: Vaccination of dogs and cats (Hindi leaflet, 2020) (opens in a new tab)
- ICAR-IVRI: Rabies (leaflet, 2023) (opens in a new tab)
- National Centre for Disease Control, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare: National Action Plan for Dog Mediated Rabies Elimination from India by 2030 (opens in a new tab)
- WSAVA: Core and non-core vaccines for pet dogs (opens in a new tab)
Show all 13 sourcesShow fewer
- National Centre for Disease Control, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare: National guidelines on rabies prophylaxis (2015) (opens in a new tab)
- Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation: Manual for application for dog licence (opens in a new tab)
- Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine: Rabies infections and prevention (Riney Canine Health Center) (opens in a new tab)
- European Advisory Board on Cat Diseases (ABCD): Guideline for feline rabies (opens in a new tab)
- Indian Journal of Public Health (2019): Assessing rabies-free status of Andaman, Nicobar and Lakshadweep Islands (abstract read) (opens in a new tab)
- WSAVA: 2024 guidelines for the vaccination of dogs and cats (WSAVA Vaccination Guidelines Group, Journal of Small Animal Practice) (opens in a new tab)
- Indian Veterinary Journal (Madras Veterinary College, TANUVAS): Evaluation and optimisation of vaccine priming in dogs against rabies (opens in a new tab)