18,000 dog bite cases reported in 2018

Govt lax in establishing rabies vaccination centres in district hospitals

KARACHI: More than 18,000 cases of dog bites were reported in the city in 2018 but the Sindh health department has failed to establish vaccination centres in the district health facilities.

Rabies is a preventable disease which is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected animals. The rabies virus infiltrates the host by way of a bite contaminated with the saliva of one of its carriers.



Rabies poses a threat to nearly three billion people worldwide, and kills more than 55,000 each year. In Pakistan, 99% of rabies cases are caused by dog bites. The Rabies Centre at Karachi Civil Hospital recorded 10,288 rabies cases which were vaccinated and Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre had 7,697 vaccinated cases in the previous year.

The majority of dog bite cases were reported from the slum areas of Ibrahim Hyderi, Surjani Town, North Karachi, New Karachi, Baldia, Orangi, Keamari, Mehmoodabad, Liaquatabad, Federal B Area and Golimar. Children and elderly were the most common victims of dog bites.

Despite the high number of reported cases, the Sindh health department and the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) have failed to launch a comprehensive campaign against stray dogs.



The Sindh government’s plan to introduce anti-rabies vaccines in five hospitals of the city, including Sindh government hospitals in Korangi, New Karachi, Ibrahim Hyderi, and the Rural Health Centre in Gadap and Malir, has not materialised as yet.

Currently, anti-rabies vaccination is available at Karachi Civil Hospital, JPMC and The Indus Hospital free of cost for dog bite victims.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 4^th, 2019.