Misconception About Hospital Closures Drives Delays in Rabies Post-Exposure Prophylaxis: IJCM Study
It is a striking revelation that while 75.26% of animal bite victims successfully receive care within the recommended 24-hour window, a significant 24.74% still face potentially life-threatening delays due to the mistaken belief that medical facilities are closed during public holidays, as detailed in a recent study published in the Indian Journal of Community Medicine in March 2026.
Rabies remains a universally fatal yet entirely preventable zoonotic threat, and while previous research highlights that indigenous wound practices and myths often hinder treatment, a critical clinical gap persists as recent World Health Organization (WHO) reports indicate that less than 2% of severe Category III bite victims in lower-middle-income countries receive necessary immunoglobulins; thus, Dr Arindam Maiti from the Government Medical College, Singrauli, and his team aimed to identify post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) initiation delays and associated factors at a Central Indian tertiary hospital.
Therefore, the six-month cross-sectional study, conducted from August 2022 to January 2023 at a tertiary hospital in Jabalpur, utilized face-to-face interviews and multinomial logistic regression to analyze 485 animal bite victims, excluding those with mental illness, to identify treatment delays and determine the clinical and demographic factors associated with these postponements.
Key Clinical Findings of the Study Include:
Treatment Timing Benchmarks: Study data revealed that 75.26% of victims initiated treatment promptly within 24 hours, whereas 24.74% failed to seek care on the first day.
Primary Barriers to Care: Study findings showed 50.83% of those who delayed treatment cited the misconception of perceived hospital holidays as their primary reason, revealing a gap in public knowledge regarding 24/7 service availability.
Geographic and Educational Disparities: Study results confirmed that victims from rural areas comprised 51.67% of the delayed group and that lower educational levels served as a significant risk factor for postponed care.
Wound Perception Influence: Study observations indicated that patients with superficial wounds were significantly more likely to postpone initiation than those with deep injuries, with such wounds noted in 61.90% of delayed cases.
Critical Passive Immunization Gap: Study analysis highlighted that only 2.44% of Category III victims received necessary Rabies Immunoglobulin (RIG), exposing a systemic failure in passive immunization at the referral center.
The results suggest that 365 patients received prompt care while 120 individuals faced significant delays, primarily influenced by socioeconomic status, rural residence, and a lack of awareness regarding the severity of Category I and III wounds.
These findings suggest that healthcare providers might benefit from emphasizing the continuous availability of emergency services and the urgency of treatment for all bite categories to ensure better patient outcomes.
Although the study offers valuable public health insights, it is limited by its single-center design and lack of long-term survival data, suggesting that more extensive future research, including private sector participants, would be beneficial.
Reference
Maiti A, Sharma A, Patel S, Mishra A, Dhakar JS. A study on delay in initiation of post-exposure prophylaxis among the animal bite victims from a tertiary care hospital in Central India. Indian J Community Med 2026;51:246-52.
