Lack of anti-rabies vaccination in Sindh results in another death

KARACHI: A child who was bitten by a ‘mad dog’ and contracted rabies, died due to non availability of vaccination for the age-old disease.

The Ministry of Health, Sindh continues to disappoint as 8 year old Rizwan succumbed to the rabies virus after a dog bit him a month prior.

The child was admitted in a hospital but after a month’s effort, lost his life battling the disease.

Rizwan along with four more people were bitten by a ‘mad dog’ a month back.

The child was brought to Karachi after failing to get proper treatment in Larkana and Shikarpur hospital who were suffering from an acute shortage of anti-rabies vaccination.

“Rabies is an incurable disease,” revealed Aftab Gohar a rabies co-ordinator at Karachi’s private hospital.

“Four deaths had been reported last year due to the virus.”

A few days prior to Rizwan’s demise, an 11 year old had died in another private hospital of Karachi and another death was reported from interior Sindh where another man fell prey to the virus.

Karachi’s Jinnah hospital alone has recorded 5000 cases of dog bites, revealed the superintendent Seemi Jamali.

Rabies a preventable but incurable disease that has been known for more than 4300 years but to date, no effective medical therapy has been established as a cure for the menace, another death has been reported due to the virus from Sindh as health issues and lack of medical aid haunt the province.