Lethal shortage

The acute shortage of the anti-rabies vaccine, notably in Karachi and other parts of Sindh, puts lives at risk every day. While there is a shortage of vaccine in other parts of the country too, including Lahore, Sindh seems to have been particularly badly hit by the menace of stray dogs. The matter has also been taken up in the provincial assembly. According to figures available during the last 10 months 196,579 people have been bitten by stray dogs from Karachi to Larkana. At least 22 among them have died. Even when a dog bite does not result in rabies it can kill due to severe injury or other infection.

The problem has been growing steadily. There have been frequent complaints in Karachi of packs of stray dogs roaming certain areas and presenting a threat to local people. The shortage of the vaccine, according to the Sindh government, has been caused because it was previously imported from India. This is now no longer happening. The vaccine available from Europe costs Rs70,000 compared to the Indian vaccine stocked by public hospitals which costs around Rs1,000.This is not a matter that can be ignored. Authorities in Karachi and also other cities have attempted to cope with the problem by culling stray dogs. But given the high rate of reproduction this would never be possible. Experts argue that a multi-pronged strategy is necessary. In the first place the anti-rabies vaccine must be made available at public-sector hospitals. Perhaps it can be acquired from China. In addition, as far as possible, dogs need to be vaccinated, spayed or neutered to prevent the canine population from expanding endlessly and at a very rapid rate. In some areas of Karachi activists have been able to involve communities in this effort on the basis that it is not possible to kill all stray dogs. The government too has now started a dog vaccination initiative.

There are also arguments that the practices used for this are inhumane.The main priority however must be to save people from the terrible trauma of a dog attack and possible rabies. Awareness also needs to be created for this. People must be educated about watching out for any wound caused by an animal and seeking medical advice. Doctors however are helpless when no vaccine is available. They can only hope that the bite was inflicted by a non-rabid animal and that the victim will not suffer what is an agonizing infection inevitably leading to death. It is senseless to continue to ignore this problem and put people at risk. Too many have suffered already.