Dog-bite cases increase amid delayed govt intervention

KARACHI: Amid the wait for a serious government initiative to tackle the problem of stray dogs in the province, the Indus Hospital (IH) has seen a spike in dog-bite cases over the past three weeks while a suspected case of rabies is currently being looked after at the National Institute of Child Health (NICH), it emerged on Saturday.

Recently, sources said, a six-year-old girl also underwent surgery at the NICH for serious facial injuries caused by a dog.

“On an average the hospital receives 20 to 30 dog-bite cases daily. But, over the past three weeks, we are getting 30 to 40 such cases daily from all over Karachi,” said Mohammad Aftab Gohar, the manager of the rabies prevention and training centre at the IH.

The rise in cases was, perhaps, linked to dogs’ breeding season as it happened periodically, he added.

The Indus Hospital has been receiving 30 to 40 dog-bite cases daily from all over Karachi

“We are seeing an annual increase in the number of dog-bite cases, which could be because of two reasons; increasing awareness among people about our facility providing free-of-cost treatment round the clock and growing dogs’ population,” he said, adding that 40 to 50 per cent of the dog-bite victims were under 15, often involving a history of provocation.

Suspected case

Sharing information about the girl under treatment for dog-bite injuries, NICH director Dr Jamal Raza said she was recovering well and would be discharged soon.

“She was brought to the NICH on February 5 and underwent surgery for facial injuries the same day after being vaccinated against rabies,” he said, adding that a 10-year-old boy brought from Tando Adam to the facility was suspected of having rabies.

Speaking to Dawn, Abdur Rehman, the father of six-year-old Mubashara, and resident of Taiser Town, said he initially took her to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where doctors told him to take her to the NICH.

“They gave her some injection at the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital before I brought her here. My daughter is well now but the growing dog population is a constant danger in our locality,” he said.

Around 1,000 dog-bite cases were registered at the NICH in 2019 with two deaths from rabies, while at least 25 lives were lost to rabies last year in the whole province.

The government is yet to finalise and approve an over Rs1 billion programme focusing on vaccinating and controlling population of stray dogs. The project is envisaged to be implemented in three years.

While many health practitioners believe that immediate relief could only be provided with mass culling of dogs as their numbers have increased manifold due to worsening sanitary conditions across Sindh, others say the government should follow WHO recommendations.

The one-health approach of WHO seeks elimination of rabies universally by 2030 with the help of mass dog vaccination and controlling [their] population through birth control measures (as studies have proved killing stray dogs as an ineffective method to end rabies).