Karachi records 48 dog-bite cases, report

KARACHI: As many as 48 people, including children, have become the most recent dog-bite victims in different areas of the megacity, according to the latest reports.

According to sources, many dog-bite victims were brought to various hospitals across the city for vaccination including 25 to the Indus Hospital Karachi, eleven to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), seven to the Sindh Government Lyari General Hospital Karachi, and four to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH). Around a dozen children also fell victim to dog-bites.

Meanwhile, stray dogs have become a serious public health issue in the city as the population of stray dogs continues to rise at an alarming rate in Karachi.

The majority of dog-bite cases were reported from the slum areas of the city, including Ibrahim Hyderi, Surjani, North Karachi, New Karachi, Baldia, Korangi, Orangi, Keamari, Mehmoodabad, Liaquatabad, Federal B Area, and Golimar.

It is pertinent to mention here that if a person is bitten by a rabid dog and is not vaccinated against rabies, there is no chance of his or her survival. Rabies is a viral illness that is transmitted to humans if a rabid animal, mostly dogs, bite them. However, there is no cure if a person develops a full-blown viral infection.

Experts have stated that rabies could be on one hand, 100% fatal, but on the other, it could also be 100% vaccine-preventable.

-MN Report