SUKKUR: As many as 72 victims of dog-bite from Thull, Garhi Khero, Jacobabad and Dera Murad Jamali, Balochistan, have been reported at the Jacobabad Institute of Medical Sciences (JIMS) and received anti-rabies vaccine over the past couple of days.

Sources in JIMS said that 34 persons including the elderly, teenage and minor boys and girls who were bitten by dogs were first brought to Jacobabad Civil Hospital but were soon shifted to the JIMS due to unavailability of anti-rabies vaccination at the hospital.

They told reporters that 34 victims of dog-bite were brought only in one day on Saturday who were provided first dose of anti-rabies vaccine. Earlier, 38 victims had arrived at the institute who were also provided second and third doses of the vaccine on Saturday, totalling 72 persons who were administered the vaccine in one day, said the sources.

They said that one dose of the vaccine was purchased at Rs1,000 which meant Rs72,000 of drugs in one day though the medicines being supplied to JIMS did not include anti-rabies vaccines and it had to buy the drug from open market.

They said that JIMS had to handle all the load of dog-bite victims because the vaccine was not available at basic health units and taluka and district hospitals in Thull, Garhi Khero and Jacobabad. The government should supply anti-rabies vaccines to all healthcare facilities in order to reduce burden on JIMS, they said.

Some of the victims were identified as Rani Pathan, 20; Ilyas, 15; Younus, 9; Safeer, 5; Kareemullah, 5; Akhtar, 8; Mohammad Alam, 50; Sajjad, 9; Ghulam Yaseen, 59; Naseer, 15; Mohammad Ali, 43, and Rizwan.

Published in Dawn, January 27th, 2020