Over 5,641 dog-bite cases registered nationwide during past week

ISLAMABAD: A staggering 5,641 dog-bite cases have been reported across Pakistan in just one week, according to the National Institute of Health (NIH) officials.

According to NIH data, Punjab topped the list with 3,264 cases, followed by Sindh with 1,601 cases.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa reported 615 cases, while Balochistan saw 80 cases. Meanwhile, 75 cases were reported in Azad Kashmir and 6 in Gilgit-Baltistan, sources added.

Last month, a shocking increase was reported in the number of dog bite cases as 7,957 cases were reported in one week across Pakistan.

In a significant development, the Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) in Karachi launched its own anti-rabies vaccine (ARV), namely DowRab, for the dog bites victims in Sindh.

The reports indicated that around one million individuals in Pakistan are bitten by stray dogs every year, leading to an estimated 5,000 to 6,000 deaths from rabies.

According to the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Islamabad, the country needs over 2 million doses of anti-rabies vaccine (ARV) on an annual basis, with a significant portion being imported from India.

Currently, Pakistan is grappling with a critical shortage of anti-rabies vaccine (ARV) attributed to pricing disputes.