KARACHI: A mad dog on Saturday bit 12 people in Korangi area of the provincial capital, spreading panic in the area.
All victims were shifted to the Rabies Prevention Centre of Indus Hospital for treatment. Rabies Prevention Centre team leader Aftab Gohar, while talking to PPI, said that as many as 12 people, including women and children, were seriously injured in the dog attacks. He said that all victims were provided first aid and vaccination while ones requiring plastic surgery had been called for a follow-up.
Aftab Gohar said that the mad dog attacked and bit 12 people in the same locality within two hours. He said all of them were severely bitten on the face, arms and legs.
Stray dogs have become the most serious public health issue in the city as their population is increasing at an alarming rate and the concerned authorities are not getting rid of them.
The majority of dog bite cases are reported from slums areas of Ibrahim Hyderi, Surjani, North Karachi, New Karachi, Baldia, Korangi, Orangi, Keamari, Mehmoodabad, Liaquatabad, Federal B Area and Golimar.
Aftab further told that children and elderly people were the most likely victims of dog attacks.
According to experts, rabies is a disease that is 100 per cent fatal, but it is also 100 per cent vaccine-preventable. It has no cure if a person gets a full-blown viral infection and it is a viral illness that is transmitted to humans if they are bitten by a rabid animal, mostly dogs.
As many as 24,000 dog bite cases were reported across Karachi in 2018 out of which 10,288 were reported at the Rabies Centre of Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi, a total of 7,697 cases were brought to the Anti-Rabies Clinic of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC) and 6,000 cases were handled at the Rabies Prevention Centre of Indus Hospital Karachi.