Australia Warns on Fake Rabies Vaccine

“Fortunately, people in India are usually administered five doses of the vaccine following an animal bite. Now, even if one of the vaccines is of doubtful efficacy — and we still do not know what the counterfeit vaccines contained — the person will still be protected if they have received the other doses and the immunoglobulin.”

“In rare cases, rabies might happen despite vaccination if the wound has not been cleaned properly and on time. If the bite happens in a nerve-rich area and sends the virus directly into the nervous system, the infection may occur.”

“The public health agencies in the four nations of the UK are conducting a look-back exercise to identify any travellers who reported receiving rabies vaccine following an animal bite in India from November 2023 onwards, to determine whether further rabies vaccination may be recommended.”

“A case of rabies has been reported in the US in a traveler from India. The circulation of counterfeit Abhayrab human rabies vaccine has recently been reported in major cities in India. Counterfeit vaccines may not be effective in the prevention of rabies and could contain harmful ingredients.”

“In January 2025, IIL proactively identified in the market one specific batch (#KA24014) with a packaging different to the original. The company immediately notified the Indian regulators and law enforcement agencies…. There is no instance of any other counterfeit batch in the market.”

“The counterfeit products were seized and tested, including in the government’s Central Drug Testing Laboratory in Kasauli, which tests all vaccines before they are released in the Indian market. The test report, in fact, found the vaccines to contain the genuine product. What this essentially means is that the outer package of the product was changed to divert the government supply to the open market.”

“We are the largest producer of rabies vaccine in the world and have been delivering the product for the last 25 years. The challenge with such advisories is that it may lead to more vaccine hesitancy within the country. Imagine if Abhayrab is the only rabies vaccine on the shelf in a village — and someone does not take it because of this news. We want to let people know that the vaccine is safe and effective.”