Indian Immunologicals Limited (IIL), the market leader in veterinary biological, on Thursday administered more than one lakh doses of free anti-rabies vaccines in 100 centres across the country on World Zoonosis Day.

More than one lakh doses of Raksharab (anti-rabies vaccine produced by IIL) were administered free of cost through veterinary dispensaries and NGOs, it said in a statement.IIL, one of the largest animal and human health players in India, said it had been providing various tools to control the deadly rabies disease in the country.Every year July 6 is observed as World Zoonosis Day and many veterinary dispensaries, NGOs and veterinarians across the country conduct rabies awareness camps with the help of IIL.Diseases that transmit from animals to human beings are called zoonotic diseases. Out of all microbial pathogens, about 60 percent cause zoonotic diseases, while 75 percent of all emerging diseases are zoonotic in nature, IIL said in a statement.

An occurrence of rabies is predominant and is the cause of more than 90 percent of all zoonotic cases in the country. India accounts for more than 30,000 rabies related deaths per year, which is almost one-third of all cases in the world. This is due to large uncontrolled stray dog population in India, according to the statement.India has about 40 million dogs, and stray dogs account for nearly 80 per cent of them. Due to lack of systematic vaccination and infrastructure to control stray dogs, the rabies menace is consistently increasing in India.K. Anand Kumar, MD, IIL, said that IIL is not just a leading manufacturer and supplier of rabies vaccine for both human and animal use, it also contributes significantly in creating awareness about its menace among the general public and renders free vaccination services.