Gurgaon: More than 42,000 people received anti-rabies vaccines at govt health facilities in the city in 2025, indicating that animal bite and exposure cases remain alarmingly high.According to data accessed by TOI, 42,613 people were administered anti-rabies vaccines between Jan and Dec 2025 — around 117 cases every day, or nearly five people every hour. This marks a steep rise from 2024, when the city recorded just over one dog bite case per hour.In the first four months of 2026 alone, another 16,897 people received anti-rabies vaccines — around 141 cases daily, or nearly six every hour.The figures dwarf those from previous years. The city reported 2,612 dog bite cases in 2021 (roughly seven a day); 3,464 in 2022 (around nine a day); 5,259 in 2023 (about 14 daily); and 10,067 in 2024 — nearly 27 cases every day.The highest monthly count in the latest dataset was Jan 2026, with 4,618 vaccinations, followed by Feb(4,339) and Dec 2025 (4,291).Doctors at govt hospitals said dog bite and animal scratch cases are reported almost daily in emergency wards.“Children between 5–14 years are the most vulnerable, especially boys, because they play outdoors and may not recognise warning signs in stray dogs. Elderly people are also at risk due to slower reaction times,” said Dr Satish Koul, principal director and unit head – internal medicine, Fortis Gurgaon.“The biggest mistakes are not washing the wound immediately with soap and water, ignoring small scratches, applying home remedies like turmeric or oil, and delaying or skipping the anti-rabies vaccine,” he added.Experts said the rising numbers reflect gaps in animal birth control (ABC) programmes and poor stray dog population management.Though MCG has no official population estimate, activists said numbers have grown sharply due to inadequate sterilisation drives.Chetna Joshi, founder of Kaali Welfare Foundation and a member of the Animal Welfare Board of India, said two of the three MCG-linked sterilisation centres were operating without mandatory approvals under the ABC Rules, 2023.“One centre is run by TACO animal welfare centre under CSR support, while the other two — at Garhi Harsaru and Baliawas — are operated by Maa Baglamukhi Sewa Samiti under an MCG tender, without the requisite certificate of project recognition,” she said, adding that records cited by authorities pertain to TACO’s work, not Bagulamukhi’s.“MCG needs a certificate of project recognition to legally operate these centres. As far as I know, these approvals are not in place for the Bagulamukhi facilities,” Joshi said.She further alleged the agency had been involved in unlawful pick-ups of community dogs and arbitrary branding of animals as aggressive, including relocations coordinated with local political representatives — “which raises serious legal and ethical concerns.”Despite being the nodal agency for stray animal management, MCG has no official survey or exact count of stray dogs in the city — a gap that also extends to monkey management, which falls under its jurisdiction.“The health department’s data reflects anti-rabies vaccine administration for all animal bites — dogs, monkeys, cats, and pet dogs alike. Since no category-wise breakdown is available, stray dog bites account for only around 20% of the actual cases. The data also covers the entire district, including areas beyond municipal limits,” a senior MCG official said.The official added that sterilisation and vaccination of stray dogs had been completed in several parts of the city, and that full coverage was expected within a year.Residents across several sectors said aggressive stray dog packs remain a major concern, particularly during early morning and late evening hours.“There are areas where elderly residents and children are scared to walk alone. The problem has worsened over the last few years,” said Kunal Sharma, a resident of Sector 85.
