In a sobering medical reality, Jaipur's SMS Medical College has recorded a 100% mortality rate among rabies patients treated with an experimental coma-inducing protocol since 2023. Despite employing the same treatment that produced the world's only documented rabies survivor in 2004, not a single patient has survived at the renowned medical institution.
The Desperate Protocol: Buying Time Against Rabies
Since 2023, SMS Medical College has been placing unvaccinated rabies patients into drug-induced comas following the Milwaukee protocol. This experimental regimen relies on a combination of ketamine, ribavirin, and other drugs to temporarily suppress brain activity. The strategy aims to buy precious time for the immune system to mount a defense against the virus once it reaches the central nervous system.
Dr Sunil Mahawar, nodal officer for the infectious diseases department at SMS Hospital, acknowledges the grim statistics. "Rabies remains one of the deadliest infections known to medicine, and no proven cure exists once clinical symptoms appear," he states. "We continue to use the Milwaukee protocol because, in 2004, one unvaccinated girl in Milwaukee survived. That solitary case gives us the faintest hope, even if none of our patients have pulled through so far."
Stark Reality at SMS Hospital
The numbers tell a heartbreaking story. SMS hospital treats between 24 to 30 confirmed rabies cases every year, yet its infectious diseases department has recorded complete failure with the experimental treatment. Patients exhibiting classic rabies symptoms—including hydrophobia (fear of water), aerophobia (fear of air currents), excruciating nerve pain, convulsions, and eventual coma—are shifted to specialized isolated wards.
These wards are specifically designed to minimize light, sound, and other triggers that can aggravate the disease's progression. Doctors then induce therapeutic coma, hoping to shield the brain long enough for immunity to develop. At SMS Medical College, however, that hope has been repeatedly extinguished with each case.
Why Continue a Failing Treatment?
The continued application of the Milwaukee protocol represents medicine's desperate battle against one of humanity's most fatal diseases. With rabies still universally fatal once symptoms manifest, medical professionals face limited options. The single documented success from 2004 provides just enough justification to continue what remains essentially a last-ditch gamble against certain death.
For now, the protocol has delivered only heartbreak to families and medical staff in Jaipur, highlighting the urgent need for more effective rabies treatments and prevention methods. The stark contrast between the Milwaukee success story and Jaipur's experience raises important questions about the protocol's effectiveness across different patient populations and medical settings.
