Report of the World Rabies Day activities organized by NIMHANS and KIMS Bangalore Under the aegis of Rabies in Asia Foundation By Dr. S.N.Madhusudana Professor Department of Neurovirology Head, WHO CC on Reference and Research on Rabies NIMHANS, Bangalore INDIA One of the major activities conducted this year was a mass vaccination campaign of pre-exposure immunization to around 1200 children in the Tibetian Settlement at Bylakuppe, near Mysore, Karnataka. This initiative was undertaken following three human deaths due to rabies reported in this community last year. This Tibetian settlement is supported by Government of India and the land provided by the Government of Karnataka state. There are about 30,000 inhabitants attached to three monasteries. This area is also home to several hundred stray dogs which are fed by the locals. In this rabies pre-exposure vaccination drive, two schools were targeted; Sera Mey and Sera Jhe schools of Sera Monastery. The programme was supported by the Sermey Social Service Society situated in Bylakuppe. The programme was inaugurated by the Chief Priest of the Monastery. Dr. S.N. Madhusudana explained the purpose of this activity, the usefulness of pre-exposure vaccination and the immediate measures to be implemented after dog bites. The school children were very enthusiastic and there was excellent cooperation from all individuals in the community involved in this significant endeavour. The event was covered by local press and television media. Six stations manned by trained doctors from NIMHANS and KIMS, Bangalore were set up to administer rabies vaccine by intradermal route. About 300 doses of Rabipur vaccine, kindly donated for this purpose by Novartis, India were used for vaccination of children. All children will be administered 2nd dose of the vaccine on day 7 and the third dose on day 21. Any adverse effects will be monitored by the local community doctors and health care workers. We plan to cover the entire community including adults with three doses of pre-exposure vaccination and follow the community closely. This mass pre-exposure vaccination in a closed and restricted population may give us insights to economics and benefits of mass vaccination of humans to prevent rabies deaths. I take this opportunity to thank my colleagues Dr. Reeta Mani, Dr. Ashwini Shetty, Dr. Ashwin from NIMHANS and Dr. DH Ashwathnarayana and his team from KIMS, Bangalore. I also thank Novartis, India for generous supply of vaccines for this purpose.