Publication:

Rabies awareness and knowledge among adults in an urban Indian setting: evidence from Jaipur, India

Background Rabies is almost invariably fatal once symptoms appear yet preventable if post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is completed in time. National data show that almost half of those who begin a vaccine course in India do not complete it. Whether Jaipur residents possess the specific knowledge that governs treatment completion had not been assessed.

Methods A cross-sectional survey used a bilingual questionnaire of ten factual knowledge items, administered online and face to face across Jaipur (September 2025 to February 2026). After exclusions, 349 adults were analysed.

Results General awareness was high: 99.4% would attend a hospital after a bite and 89.1% knew rabies is preventable if treated in time. However, life-critical procedural knowledge was weak. Only 37.8% knew that rabies cannot be cured once symptoms appear, while 43.8% believed a hospital could still cure it, making the incorrect belief more prevalent than the correct one. Only 26.5% knew vaccine-induced protection is not immediate, 57.3% knew the full course requires four or five injections, and 42.1% knew that mammals other than dogs transmit the virus. Mean knowledge score was 6.07 of 10 (SD 1.87); 22.3% scored poorly. Scores were higher among those with a dog bite in the family or social circle (p=0.003).

Conclusions High awareness coexists with critical gaps in the knowledge that determines survival: that rabies is incurable after symptom onset, that protection is not immediate, and that the course must be completed. Closing these gaps requires targeted communication at the point of post-exposure care, not broader awareness activity.