SHIKARPUR: Another child died due to non-availability of anti-rabies vaccine in Sindh where thousands of dog-bite cases were recorded this year so far, according to PPI.

The latest victim was 12-year-old Mir Hassan Abro of village Daud Abro, Shikarpur district. His condition deteriorated due to non-availability of the vaccine and he died in a hospital of Larkana the other night.

In the whole Larkana division, including districts of Shikarpur and Jacobabad, dog-bite vaccine is not available as the health department of Sindh is unable to ensure its supply in the affected areas.

Our Staff Reporter adds: Sindh Information Minister Saeed Ghani has denied reports about the shortage of anti-rabies vaccine in the province, saying that the boy died to the “negligence” of his parents.

Talking to reporters, the minister said that according to an initial report received by the Sindh government from the commissioner of Larkana about the death of the boy, the incident was not a recent occurrence. He was bitten by a dog on Aug 10, two days before Eidul Azha, he said.

The parents of the boy, instead of taking their son to any medical facility of the vicinity, failed to give him due attention, he said, adding that they only realised the gravity of the situation when his condition deteriorated.

They rushed the boy to Larkana on Sept 17 in a very critical condition. When he was brought to the hospital, his condition was so severe that he could not be injected with the vaccine immediately, he said.

Mr Ghani said that contrary to the doctors’ advice, the parents demanded to shift him to Karachi, but the boy died on the way in an ambulance. If the parents had taken him to any nearby health facility, his life could have been saved as the vaccine, despite being short in supply, was available in the province, he said.

Published in Dawn, September 19th, 2019