Larkana struggles to provide vaccines as incidence of dog bite cases rises

Shortage of vaccines has causes their prices to double

LARKANA: With over 1,574 dog bite cases having been reported at the Dog Bite Vaccination Centre, Larkana, in September alone, health authorities are struggling to arrange the vaccines meant for the treatment of the rabies virus.

Over the past month, 25 Anti-Rabies Vaccine (ARV) have been supplied to the centre by the People's Primary Healthcare Initiative (PPHI) against a commitment of 400 vials, 380 vials have been supplied by the Chandka Medical College Hospital (CMCH) against the undertaking of 600 vials and 34 vials by the Integrated Health Services (IHS) against the commitment of 400 vials.



Dr Nooruddin Qazi, the incharge of the Dog Bite Vaccination Centre set up at the Commissioner Office, said that as many as 4,808 new cases of dog bites were reported in the first six months of the current year, while there were 10,007 follow-up cases.

In all, 14,815 dog bite cases were treated in the first six months of the current years, for which the centre received only 6,356 ARV vials against the requirement of 6,854. Dr Qazi claimed that the remaining vials were obtained through other sources.

Stray dogs

Stray dogs can be seen roaming the streets in large numbers in all four talukas of Larkana district, but the worst affected is Larkana taluka, from where 2,174 cases of dog bites have been reported in the current year, followed by 1,184 in Ratodero, 964 in Bakrani and 486 in Dokri Taluka. No campaign has been launched thus far to raise awareness among citizens about the treatment for dog bites nor have there been any efforts to control the population of the stray dogs

Recently, a 12-year old boy from Shikarpur lost his life in Larkana due to hydrophobia as his parents were unaware that they were supposed to get the child vaccinated after he was bitten by a stray dog. The parents later told the media that their neighbours had advised them against the vaccination as the dog that bit the child wasn't a pye-dog.

Court directives

The Sindh High Court (SHC) has also taken notice of media reports regarding the shortage of ARV vaccines in the province and has directed the provincial government to ensure the availability of ARV at all healthcare facilities and sought a report from district and sessions judges across Sindh.

According to Dr Qazi, the PPHI has to give the Dog Bite Vaccination Centre, Larkana, 400 vials each month, the CMCH 600 vials.  In addition, the HIS has to give 500 vials which are to be administered to the affected patients to save their precious lives because it is a life-saving drug.



He said that the centre only catered to the people of Larkana district, where patients of other districts also arrived but were politely sent back to their own districts after counseling as such centres are operational in all districts and they would also need follow-up visits.

Dr Qazi said that approximately Rs6 million were spent on the treatment of dog bite cases during the first six months of 2019. He added, however, that the vaccine was being sold at a higher rate by retailers due to the short supply, so its cost had almost doubled.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 25^th, 2019.