Family protests over doctors' refusal to vaccinate dog-bite child victim

Bahawalpur: Doctors at a government hospital in Bahawalpur, a district in Punjab province, on Monday refused to inoculate a dog-bite child victim owing to absence of the vaccine, ARY News reported.

A 10-year-old child was brought to a tehsil headquarter hospital in Hasilpur, a tehsil of Bahawalpur, after a dog bit him in the suburb area.

The minor was however, not vaccinated due to its shortage at the hospital. The doctors also refused to admit the child and suggested parents to take him back.

The refusal irked the parents, who protested over unprofessional behavior of the doctors and demanded to arrange a vaccine for him. “We will not return unless our child is vaccinated,” said the defiant parents.

On November 07, a 11-year-old, bitten by a dog in interior of Sindh, died at the National Institute of Child Health (NICH).

The child, belong to Chhachhro town of Tharparkar, was brought to the NICH on October 29, head of the medical facility Dr. Jamal Raza said.

A rabid dog had bitten the child 25 days ago and he was also given initial vaccine at the local hospital, the doctor said.

The death toll in Sindh province by dog bite incidents has reached to 21 this year.

The issue of dog bite has become prevalent in Karachi and other parts of the province. It is pertinent to mention here that in a recent incident 12 people, including a police officer, were rushed to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital of the city for vaccination after a rabid dog bitten them, but doctors expressed their helplessness to administer the Anti-Rabies Vaccine due to the non-availability of the ARV.