MUZAFFARABAD: As many as 20 people, mostly children, were injured in Mirpur on Sunday after being bitten by a rabid dog.

Dr Farooq Noor, the superintendent of Divisional Headquarters Hospital Mirpur, told Dawn by telephone that the first victim was bitten at about 11am and the last at 4:30pm.

Witnesses said it was perhaps one rabid dog that had bitten the pedestrians in Nangi shopping centre and its adjacent areas.

According to Dr Noor, for every 15kg weight the patient needs one anti-rabies injection and the cost of one injection is around Rs7,000.

He said after the news of dog-bite cases went viral on social media, he received instructions from the government to purchase injections from official funds for the victims.

However, by that time, 17 victims had been administered injections which they had purchased on their own. “We have administered free injections to three patients who reported in the afternoon.”

He said no more cases were reported after 6pm due to which it was assumed that the rabid dog might have been killed by someone.

“But we are yet to receive any official confirmation about it,” he added.

Published in Dawn, March 18th, 2019