Australia Warns Of Counterfeit Abhayrab Rabies Vaccines Circulating In India

Australia has warned that counterfeit batches of the rabies vaccine Abhayrab have been circulating in India since November 1, 2023.

The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation said that anyone who received Abhayrab in India after this date should be given replacement doses of a rabies vaccine registered in Australia.

Indian Immunologicals Limited (IIL) in a statement said the issue was detected in early January 2025 related to special batch of Abhayarb (Batch No. KA24014) and the counterfeit batch is no longer available in the market.

Abhayrab has been manufactured since 2000 by the Human Biologicals Institute (a branch of IIL, Hyderabad), with over 210 million doses supplied in India and 40 countries and about 40% market share in India.

Rabies is a viral zoonotic disease that affects the central nervous system. According to WHO, up to 99% of the human rabies cases, dogs are responsible for virus transmission. India accounts for about 36% of global rabies deaths each year, according to WHO