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25 dog-bite cases reported from Karachi in a single day

More than two dozen cases reported to major city hospitals amid shortage of anti-rabies medicine

By Web Desk
October 15, 2019

KARACHI: The number  of dog -bite cases in  Karachi has alarmingly increased  with over 25 patients, most of them suffering from rabies, brought to the city's hospitals  on Monday. 

Surprisingly,  more than 25 dog-bite cases,  among them 12 from Liaqatabad alone, were reported to major city hospitals in a single day amid shortage of anti-rabies vaccine.

Around 23 people were reportedly brought to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH) on Monday for treatment for dog bites, according to  RMO Dr Jahnzaib.

"12 people were brought from only Liaqatabad alone," said the doctor. More than 13 other patients were rushed to the medical facility from other parts of the city, he added.

Dr Jahnzaib said there was no  anti-rabies  vaccine available  in  the hospital, adding that  the people  bought it from  outside for the  treatment of their loved ones. 

Hospitals in the entire province have been facing an acute shortage of anti-rabies vaccine amid a growing population of stray dogs and non-existence of facilities in the rural parts of Sindh to face the challenge.

People are demanding the authorities ensure the availability  of anti-rabies vaccination in all major hospitals in the city and take concrete steps  for the prevention of the menaces and control of the population of stray dogs in the metropolis and rural areas of the province.

A Rabies Encephalitis is a dog-borne viral illness caused mostly by the biting of stray dogs, and if ARV is not administered to the affected person along with immunoglobulin, the patient suffers a miserable death due to hydrophobia and other complications of the disease.