Strengthening early rabies education and preventive measures - Reflections on ‘empowering adolescents in Lucknow with rabies awareness: An interventional study’

To the Editor,

Sir/Madam,

I read with great interest the article by Shukla et al.[1] on “Empowering Adolescents in Lucknow with Rabies Awareness: An Interventional Study” (J Family Med Prim Care 2025;14:2680-7) and commend the authors for highlighting the alarming gaps in rabies awareness among adolescents and demonstrating the value of targeted educational interventions. The study’s finding that none of the participants were aware of the term “rabies” initially, and that awareness of its 100% fatality rate was below 12% before intervention, is a strong reminder of the urgent public health need to integrate rabies education at the primary level.

From a public health perspective, rabies control requires a two-pronged approach: early education to foster preventive behaviors, and simultaneous promotion of vaccination strategies. Incorporating rabies awareness into primary school health curricula can ensure children understand animal bite risks, correct wound management (washing with soap and water for 15 minutes before antiseptics), and the necessity of timely postexposure prophylaxis (PEP), including rabies immunoglobulin when indicated. Additionally, targeted campaigns must address responsible pet ownership, emphasizing routine vaccination of domestic animals and pre-exposure prophylaxis for high-risk groups, such as individuals fostering or handling pets frequently.

Given rabies’ near-100% fatality once symptoms appear, prevention is our only effective weapon. The impressive improvement in knowledge scores reported by the authors—from 27.6% to 63% in rural areas and from 30.4% to 60.2% in urban areas—demonstrates that structured, multimodal interventions (lectures, demonstrations, videos, wall paintings) can successfully bridge awareness gaps. Scaling such models nationally, particularly in rural and periurban areas where health literacy is low, could significantly reduce rabies-related morbidity and mortality.

The study underlines that rabies elimination goals will only be achievable if educational interventions, pet immunization drives, and accessible PEP services are implemented synergistically. I recommend that future policy frameworks mandate rabies awareness modules in school health programs and allocate resources for community-based vaccination and pre-exposure initiatives, particularly for pet owners and caregivers.

Conflicts of interest

There are no conflicts of interest.

Funding Statement

Nil.