ISLAMABAD, Sept 3: Keeping pet dogs for security or pleasure is on the rise, but experts warn that people run the risk of the best friend becoming the worst enemy.
More than 100,000 dog-bite cases, most involving pets, are treated at hospitals throughout the country each year, according to Dr Shahab Akhter Kazi, head of Rabies Referral Centre at the National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad.
“Of these, some 5,000 infected with rabies, one of the most dreaded diseases, die every year,” he said.
Rabies is caused by an acute viral infection of the central nervous system. The disease is transmitted to humans through saliva of an infected animal usually from a bite or just a scratch.
People bring their pets, especially dogs, to public places. In Islamabad it is becoming a fashion to have a dog on leash or running about loose while having an evening walk.
There are dozens of private commercial dogs centres in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, selling local or imported pets at high prices.
Dr Kazi said rabies can also be transmitted to humans from cats, bats, jackals, wolves and other carnivores. However, dogs are the major carriers of rabies in Pakistan.
According to him, rabies symptoms appear in sever cases in four days. Normally it takes 40 to 50 days for the disease to show up and in some cases the period may extend to 19 years.
He said dog-bite treatment and vaccination facilities are available free of cost at all government hospitals, while private treatment expenses may go up to Rs50,000 depending on the body weight of a person.
Maximum cases are refereed to Islamabad hospitals from Azad Jammu and Kashmir where required facilities do not exist, he said.
Veterinary doctor Naimatullah of the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council said faeces of a dog or cat can be harmful by contaminating water and thus causing a variety of infections.
“The falling hair of cats and dogs can cause asthma problems, particularly among hypersensitive people,” he said.
Dog keepers have their reasons and many have a craze for pets.
Sohail Ahmad, a resident of a suburban neighbourhood of Islamabad, said his dog had hurt him twice.
“I have had it vaccinated,” he said, as he with a leash tied behind a motorbike was running a dog to develop its stamina for a dog fight competition in the coming winter.
Mohammad Ibrahim, a university student, has a German shepherd.
“I love my pet. He is a faithful, lively companion and he has never bitten anyone.”
He said he did not feel any need to get the animal vaccinated against rabies. He shrugged off the suggestion that it would be safer to go for vaccination.
Faiza Shamim with a cat in her car would not agree when told that a cat can be a rabies carrier. “How come; it is such an innocent animal, it can’t be that dangerous.”
The observations reflected general tendency among pet lovers to be careful and take necessary precautions.
Naimatullah, who has been a vet in Europe, said in Europe it is not possible to keep a pet without permission from the relevant authorities and people also have to undertake periodical examination of their pets.
“I wonder why we are not doing this in Pakistan. In the existing situation people are free to keep pets without any awareness about diseases they can cause and without any examination or vaccination,” he observed.
Dr Kazi of the NIH suggested that there should be a separate counter in the municipal administration for registration of pets, especially dogs, as they are major carriers of rabies.—APP