Controlling the stray dog population is the only solution to get rid of the life-threatening rabies infection. Sindh Health Minister Azra Pechuho informed the provincial legislature that more than 92,000 cases of dog-bites were reported across Sindh during this year, adding that the tension with India had created a serious shortage of the rabies vaccine, as a Chinese company had closed its operations. Dog-bite is a serious problem and rabies is highly dangerous and such issues need to be seriously dealt with. Dr Zia said that around 69,000 cases of dog-bite had been reported in Sindh last year and more than 100 cases were reported in the city’s hospitals alone. In fact, majority of stray dog population exists in Sindh as Muhammad Ali Aziz said that Karachi was home to more than 250,000 stray dogs. 12,000 cases of dog bite were reported from Benazirabad, 7000 from Dadu, 4,000 from Shikarpur, 2,750 from Jacobabad and more than 1,000 cases from the Thatta district.
Actually, rabies is not only caused by a rabid dog; in many parts of the province it is also caused by rabid jackals. PTI’s parliamentary leader Haleem Shaikh claimed vaccine for dog-bite was not available in the constituency of the health minister. His colleague Jamal Siddiqui said stray dogs were useless animals who could only harm humans, adding that colonies of stray dogs were present everywhere in the province. He said those dogs should be caught and exported to the countries where people ate dog meat. There is a dire need to find solutions and one solution is to export them to those countries where people eat them.
Imran Rasheed
Kech
