PESHAWAR, Sept 27: Committees have been formed in the health departments of the four provinces and the Azad Jammu and Kashmir as well as the Northern Areas to formulate policy guidelines for eliminating rabies from the country by 2004.

This was said by Dr Athar Saeed Dil, national coordinator of the National Institute of Health, Islamabad, while speaking at a one-day media workshop organised by the World Health Organization in collaboration with the provincial health department here on Saturday.

People, he added, living in rural areas were most vulnerable in this regard because of stray animals.

During the past nine years, about 4,10,980 had fallen prey to dog bites, with 68,416 cases occurring in Punjab, 59,572 in Sindh, 14,604 in the AJK, 10,731 in the NWFP and 7,801 cases reported in Balochistan. He said that a national plan had been developed to cope with the situation.

Stressing the need for creating public awareness, a rabies diagnostic and treatment centre would be established at the NIH, adding that similar centres would also be established at the district as well as provincial levels.

A PC-1 for Rs40 million is being prepared to set up these facilities, he informed.

Dr Fayyaz Ali of the health department said that a PC-1 would be prepared for the establishment of diagnostic, training and research facilities in this regard.

He said that efforts were being made to ensure adequate supply of vaccines in hospitals.

NIH’s Dr Farida Ahmad and Dr Shahab Qazi as well as the director-general Health Services, Dr Jalilur Rehman, also spoke on the occasion.