Dog that bit 25 people in Karachi overnight found dead

KARACHI: A dog which bit 25 people in Karachi was found dead on Tuesday morning, police said.

The dog which bit 25 people in Karachi’s FC area was identified by the area residents. Most of the residents suffering from rabies were brought to the city's hospitals on Monday.

At least 12 of the cases were reported from Liaqatabad to major city hospitals in a single day amid a shortage of anti-rabies vaccine.

Around 23 people were reportedly brought to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for treatment for dog bites, according to RMO Dr Jahnzaib.

“12 people were brought from only Liaqatabad," the doctor said, adding 13 other patients were rushed to the medical facility from other parts of the city.

Dr Jahnzaib added there was no anti-rabies vaccine available in the hospital, adding that the people bought it from outside for the treatment of their loved ones.

Karachi Commissioner Iftikhar Ali Shallwani said that those bitten by the dog had been administered the first dose of the vaccine. 

"Jinnah and Abbasi Shaheed Hospital have been given the vaccine," he said. 

Hospitals in the entire province have been facing an acute shortage of anti-rabies vaccine amid a growing population of stray dogs and non-existence of facilities in the rural parts of Sindh to face the challenge.

People are demanding the authorities ensure the availability of anti-rabies vaccination in all major hospitals in the city and take concrete steps for the prevention of the menaces and control of the population of stray dogs in the metropolis and rural areas of the province.

A 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.