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HYDERABAD, Dec 31: The director-general of Health Services, Sindh, Dr Qadir Bux Memon, has said that dog bite cases throughout the province, especially in the interior of Sindh, were on the increase, and added that by creating awareness among the people and timely treatment of patients their lives could be saved.
He was speaking as chief quest at a two-day refresher course for medical professionals on “Clinical Management of Rabies”, which was held at the Directorate General Health’s office here on Monday.
He said that in furtherance of this objective, effective use of the communication media was necessary.
He said that diagnostic and treatment centres would be set up throughout the province to ensure prompt treatment for the patients.
He sought the cooperation of the print and electronic media regarding it.
Speaking on the occasion, the national coordinator, National Rabies Prevention and Control Programme and executive director, National Institute of Health Sciences, Dr Athar Saeed Dil, said that 50,000 people died in the country due to dog bite every year.
He said that the rural population was exposed to dogs, cats, and wild animals, and added that between 1998 and 2000, 170,508 dog bite cases had been reported in Pakistan.
The National Programme manager, Rabies, Dr Fareed Ahmed, said that rabies spread through virus from wild animals and warned that this could lead to death.
He said the virus spread from animal to animal or from animals to human beings through bite.
A large number of doctors from various hospitals attended the course.
VACCINES: The director of Central Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, Tando Jam, Dr Rasheed Ahmed Choudhry, has said that the first phase of the only vaccine production unit for livestock in Sindh province has been completed in all respects at a cost of Rs25.96 million at Tando Jam.
He said that Rs10.96 million had been spent on building components and Rs11.68 million on purchase of equipment, etc., while the balance amount had been spent on other infrastructures of the project.
He informed that according to the 1996 census of livestock, Sindh province possessed 5.48 million cattle, 5.62 million buffaloes, 9.73 million goats, and 3.71 million sheep.
He said that at present, Sindh province was depending on its sister provinces — Punjab, Balochistan, and NWFP — for vaccine requirement and hardly 16-18 per cent of total livestock population was being vaccinated every year as the full requirement of vaccines was not being met by the VRI Lahore, Quetta and Peshawar.
