Pakistan has been countering an enormous shortage of anti-rabies vaccine by almost 800,000 dosages amid an increasing population of stray dogs and nearly absence of facilities in the rural parts of Sindh to face the defiance. The whole country was running short of the ARV, the situation in Sindh is turning serious as in Karachi alone in excess of 150 dog-bite cases are being stated to primary city hospitals on a daily basis and no move is seen on the reason for the prevention of the threat and prevention of the population of stray dogs in the major commercial city and rural areas of the province. An 11-year-old boy, badly experiencing from rabies was brought from Thatta to hospital and died within hours. No inoculation was done and he was bitten by a stray dog ago in the shoulder. It’s such a saddening death and this is what happened when people are not conscious. There is also a scarcity of vaccines, which makes the condition more dismal. There should be a mutual effort for a rabies-free Sindh. There is additional increasing of the plight in Sindh, where total 11 people have died hitherto this year in more than 69,000 dog-bite cases in Sindh. As yet in 2019 6,000 cases of dog bite received and registered six deaths due to rabies in Karachi separately. In the past year in excess of 7,500 patients of dog bites and the number of death stood at nine. A scary situation has risen and about 69,453 dog-bite cases have so far been stated in different parts of the province in 2019 alone. Anti-rabies vaccine is not available anywhere in the interior of Sindh; cases from rural parts of the province are also referred to Karachi’s big hospitals. The hospitals blame a severe shortage of the ARV in the country as a primary reason restricting correct treatment of the victims. The people associated with the vaccine imports highlighted reasons for the shortage.
There is a global crisis regarding the availability of anti-rabies vaccine after the ones produced by China were not found meeting the security worries. In the absence of Chinese vaccine, India became the only country to fill the position. Nevertheless, these days India is not able to meet their own demand so they have reduced the ARV exports to other countries, comprising Pakistan. The condition demanded prompt moves from the government to meet the battle. The officials agree with the worries over scarcity of vaccines, which is a general problem being countered by the country hospitals, but what concern them most in Sindh is the rise in population of stray dogs. The continuous increasing population of stray dogs has been continuously pressuring the number of dog-bite victims, primarily children, even in Sindh’s urban areas. The authorities involved should take proper measures to make Sindh rabies-free and utilize a thorough policy. It is sad that children are the major victims of stray dogs, both in urban and rural Sindh.
A large number of stray dogs roam openly in different sectors of federal capital are posing menace to lives of the residents due to apathetic attitude of Metropolitan Corporation, Islamabad. The residents stressed the departments involved to determine measures as stray dogs were hindering their mobility, particularly during nights. Several grievances with requisite departments lodged but nobody was serious bothered to pacify the situation. Dogs should be removed from the most-visited places including schools, colleges, hotels, graveyards, bus stands and others as early as possible. Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences stated that that about 15 cases of dog bites were being declared daily from the urban area of the capital while 20 to 25 came from its rural areas.
In excess of 18,000 cases of dog bites were reported in the city in 2018 but the Sindh health department has never able establish vaccination centres in the district health facilities. Rabies is an unavoidable disease which is passed to humans through the bite of contaminated animals. The rabies virus penetrates the host by way of a bite contaminated with the saliva of one of its carriers. Rabies poses a menace to approximately three billion people worldwide. In Pakistan, most rabies cases are caused by dog bites. The Rabies Centre at Karachi Civil Hospital recorded about 10,288 rabies cases which were vaccinated and Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre had 7,697 vaccinated cases in the past year. Children and elderly were the most common victims of dog bites. In spite of the high number of cases, the Sindh health department and the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation have not been successful to launch a thorough campaign against stray dogs.
Open sour purifying and vaccination within a few hours after contact with a suspect rabid animal can prevent the start of rabies and death. Rabies is a disease that is transmitted to humans from animals that is caused by a virus. The disease contaminates domestic and wild animals, and is spread to people through close contact with s diseased saliva via bites or scratches. Dogs are the origin of about 99 percent of human rabies deaths. Rabies is a disease in Pakistan, although the prevalence of dog bites in the country is extremely high. Research has shown that most of the population are not conscious of the risk of rabies when bitten by rabid dogs, or do not find the right treatment for its prevention. WHO, in collaboration with provincial health authorities, is working to develop dog bite treatment centres to strengthen post-exposure prophylaxis. Schedules are being developed to involve other sectors, such as livestock authorities and veterinary research centres, in rabies control.