Tag: rabies

  • After Sindh, Buzdar’s Punjab ‘starts running out of rabies vaccine’

    After Sindh, Buzdar’s Punjab ‘starts running out of rabies vaccine’

    Following the shortfall of anti-rabies vaccine (ARV) at public hospitals across Sindh, Chief Minister (CM) Sardar Usman Buzdar-led administration in Punjab has reportedly started running out of the same.

    According to a private media outlet, a minor girl in Sialkot was bitten by a dog earlier this week. Hadiya later passed away because there was no vaccine available at the Civil Hospital she was rushed to in the Kotli Loharan town of the district.

    Last month, a ten-year-old, who was bitten by a stray dog, died of rabies in Larkana.

    According to details, the minor, who was identified as Mir Hasan was first taken to a hospital in Shikarpur, however, he was not given the treatment because there was no vaccine available at the hospital.

    Hasan’s parents later rushed him to Larkana’s Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Hospital, but it had also run out of the required vaccine, resulting in the boy succumbing to the disease.

    The tragic development in Punjab comes amid the government’s inaction despite a rise in the number of dog-bite in Sialkot. Earlier this year, over 200 people were attacked by stray dogs in the district within a short span of two months.

    RABIES & VACCINE SHORTAGE:

    Rabies encephalitis is a dog-borne viral illness caused mostly by the biting of stray dogs, and if ARV is not administered to the affected person along with immunoglobulin, the patient suffers a miserable death due to hydrophobia and other complications of the disease.

    According to SAMAA, most anti-rabies vaccinations in Pakistan were imported from India, but they don’t want to export the vaccine to Pakistan anymore.

    The vaccine imported from India cost Rs1,000 whereas the one imported from Europe costs Rs70,000. At public hospitals, cases of dog bites are treated for free. Public hospitals use the Indian vaccine because it’s cheaper. Some private hospitals in the city use the expensive European vaccines.

    “The time has come to start producing this vaccine in Pakistan. If the government can’t find a cheap alternative to the European vaccine, the number of deaths due to rabies will increase,” SAMAA quoted Pakistan Medical Association member Dr Qaiser Sajjad as saying.

  • Govt not responsible for kid’s death by rabies: Bilawal

    Govt not responsible for kid’s death by rabies: Bilawal

    Reacting to the death of the 10-year-old who was bitten by a stray dog in Larkana, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has said that his party-led Sindh government cannot be blamed for it.

    Minor Mir Hasan died of rabies on Tuesday. He was first taken to a hospital in Shikarpur, however, he was not given the treatment because there was no vaccine available there, reports said.

    Hasan’s parents were quoted as saying that they later rushed him to Larkana’s Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Hospital, but it had also run out of the required vaccine.

    A video of the boy, breathing his last in his mother’s arms outside the hospital, was widely shared over the internet as people blamed the PPP-led Sindh government for his death.

    However, Sindh Information Minister Saeed Ghani said it wasn’t because of a shortage of anti-rabies vaccines. “He was bitten by a dog in his village two days before Eidul Azha, which was 40 days before his death.”

    The child was not brought to the hospital immediately after the dog bite and there is no record of him at any hospital in Shikarpur, said an initial investigation report submitted by the district commissioner.

    According to the report, the anti-rabies vaccine was available in stock at the hospitals Hasan was brought to, however, it needs to be administered immediately after a dog bite.

    Once hydrophobia has been developed, the vaccine does not work and is not administered, it said.

    Rubbishing reports regarding the shortage of vaccine, Bilawal, while speaking to reporters on Thursday night said, “The child was brought to the hospital beyond the time. He was bitten on Eid and brought to the hospital now.”

    WATCH VIDEO:

    When questioned about the alleged negligence of the doctors involved, the PPP chief said that investigations were underway and the government had nothing to do with it.

    “The [Sindh] government isn’t responsible for it, but both the selected government and media keep fixating on that,” he said.