Six-year-old mauled by stray dogs in Larkana succumbs to injuries
Over 200,000 dog-bite cases have been reported across the province in this year
Representational image. PHOTO: REUTERS
KARACHI:
Six-year-old Hasnain Bughio, who was brought to Karachi in critical condition last month after being attacked by six stray dogs in Larkana, succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday. Hasnain, son of Ghulam Hussain, was undergoing treatment at the National Institute of Child Health (NICH) when he passed away.
It was on November 14 that Hasnain was mauled by half a dozen dogs and his face was severely injured. He was brought to Karachi due to insufficient medical facilities at Chandka Medical College Hospital in Larkana. In the metropolis, he was first taken to The Indus Hospital, then Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital, and then finally to NICH. In the past 27 days, the child underwent three reconstructive surgeries, said Dr Jamal Raza, the executive director of NICH. The doctors tried their best to save Hasnain's life but he succumbed to the various infections that had spread in his body, he added. Dr Raza said that the body of the deceased has been handed over to the family and they have taken it to Larkana.
'We did everything we could'
Meanwhile, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah claimed that the Sindh government had "done everything it could" to save Hasnain's life. In a similar vein, the provincial health minister, Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, said that she was extremely sorry to hear about Hasnain's death. "We tried our best to provide quality treatment to Hasnain but he couldn't survive due to infections and weak immunity system," she said, adding that this was a difficult time for Hasnain's family. The health minister offered her condolences and prayers for the deceased's family. She maintained that the Sindh government was making efforts to vaccinate stray dogs and expressed the hope that dog-bite cases would be controlled soon. She directed the Larkana district commissioner to provide all possible assistance to the aggrieved family for the burial.
Rising dog-bite cases
Only last week, on December 4, another minor boy was mauled by four stray dogs in Larkana as he was returning home from school. Muzammil, 8, son of Iqbal Junejo was shifted to Chandka Medical College Hospital, where he got 17 stitches on his legs and arms.
Speaking to the media, his father had said that at least 10 children had been attacked by stray dogs in the days prior to the attack on his son. The father told the media that children in his village were afraid of leaving their houses and the attendance in schools had dropped but the authorities were not taking any steps to control the growing population of stray dogs.
On an average, 630 dog-bite cases are reported across the province each day. According to the provincial health department, over 200,000 dog-bite cases have been reported in Sindh in 2019 thus far. The death toll from such cases has reached 24. In 2018, over 18,000 such cases were reported in Sindh.
When The Express Tribune reached out to Sindh Health Services Director-General Dr Masood Solangi last month, for comment about the uptick in the number of cases, he said that the actual number of victims may be double the reported figure. "At least half the victims never show up at hospitals and are treated by quacks, local private doctors or pirs," he had explained.
Meanwhile, the lack of anti-rabies vaccines (ARVs) in Sindh has only exacerbated the matter. An acute shortage of ARVs and almost non-existence of facilities in Sindh's rural areas have turned the threat of rabies into a health crisis.
Culling stray dogs
A campaign began on November 21, 2019 to vaccinate stray dogs. "We are initially training our municipal staff to capture and vaccinate street dogs. Later, we will tag each dog before releasing it in a particular area," Local Government Secretary Roshan Ali Shaikh had said at the time. Shaikh had explained that after a few days of vaccination, the municipal staff will capture the tagged dogs again for surgery, which will be carried out at sixty-four designated veterinary hospitals belonging to the livestock and fisheries department. "After post-operative care, the dogs will be released in their respective areas. The entire process will take 12 days. Initially, the project will be launched for three years and the government will extend it accordingly until the province will become completely free of rabies," he had said.
Since then, the Sindh High Court has reiterated its directives to the relevant authorities to continue the campaign to control the population of stray dogs and ensure availability of ARVs in Sindh.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 12th, 2019.
Six-year-old Hasnain Bughio, who was brought to Karachi in critical condition last month after being attacked by six stray dogs in Larkana, succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday. Hasnain, son of Ghulam Hussain, was undergoing treatment at the National Institute of Child Health (NICH) when he passed away.
It was on November 14 that Hasnain was mauled by half a dozen dogs and his face was severely injured. He was brought to Karachi due to insufficient medical facilities at Chandka Medical College Hospital in Larkana. In the metropolis, he was first taken to The Indus Hospital, then Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital, and then finally to NICH. In the past 27 days, the child underwent three reconstructive surgeries, said Dr Jamal Raza, the executive director of NICH. The doctors tried their best to save Hasnain's life but he succumbed to the various infections that had spread in his body, he added. Dr Raza said that the body of the deceased has been handed over to the family and they have taken it to Larkana.
'We did everything we could'
Meanwhile, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah claimed that the Sindh government had "done everything it could" to save Hasnain's life. In a similar vein, the provincial health minister, Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, said that she was extremely sorry to hear about Hasnain's death. "We tried our best to provide quality treatment to Hasnain but he couldn't survive due to infections and weak immunity system," she said, adding that this was a difficult time for Hasnain's family. The health minister offered her condolences and prayers for the deceased's family. She maintained that the Sindh government was making efforts to vaccinate stray dogs and expressed the hope that dog-bite cases would be controlled soon. She directed the Larkana district commissioner to provide all possible assistance to the aggrieved family for the burial.
Rising dog-bite cases
Only last week, on December 4, another minor boy was mauled by four stray dogs in Larkana as he was returning home from school. Muzammil, 8, son of Iqbal Junejo was shifted to Chandka Medical College Hospital, where he got 17 stitches on his legs and arms.
Speaking to the media, his father had said that at least 10 children had been attacked by stray dogs in the days prior to the attack on his son. The father told the media that children in his village were afraid of leaving their houses and the attendance in schools had dropped but the authorities were not taking any steps to control the growing population of stray dogs.
On an average, 630 dog-bite cases are reported across the province each day. According to the provincial health department, over 200,000 dog-bite cases have been reported in Sindh in 2019 thus far. The death toll from such cases has reached 24. In 2018, over 18,000 such cases were reported in Sindh.
When The Express Tribune reached out to Sindh Health Services Director-General Dr Masood Solangi last month, for comment about the uptick in the number of cases, he said that the actual number of victims may be double the reported figure. "At least half the victims never show up at hospitals and are treated by quacks, local private doctors or pirs," he had explained.
Meanwhile, the lack of anti-rabies vaccines (ARVs) in Sindh has only exacerbated the matter. An acute shortage of ARVs and almost non-existence of facilities in Sindh's rural areas have turned the threat of rabies into a health crisis.
Culling stray dogs
A campaign began on November 21, 2019 to vaccinate stray dogs. "We are initially training our municipal staff to capture and vaccinate street dogs. Later, we will tag each dog before releasing it in a particular area," Local Government Secretary Roshan Ali Shaikh had said at the time. Shaikh had explained that after a few days of vaccination, the municipal staff will capture the tagged dogs again for surgery, which will be carried out at sixty-four designated veterinary hospitals belonging to the livestock and fisheries department. "After post-operative care, the dogs will be released in their respective areas. The entire process will take 12 days. Initially, the project will be launched for three years and the government will extend it accordingly until the province will become completely free of rabies," he had said.
Since then, the Sindh High Court has reiterated its directives to the relevant authorities to continue the campaign to control the population of stray dogs and ensure availability of ARVs in Sindh.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 12th, 2019.