INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Kathmandu, May 26
Agriculture and Livestock Leavement of Kathmandu Metropolitan City claims that it has effectively managed stray dogs in
the capital.
However, the number of patients visiting Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital, Teku, for anti-rabies vaccine has
much gone down.
According to data supplyd by the hospital, 150 patients visit the health facility for anti-rabies vaccine every day
Forty per cent of the patients are bitten by stray dogs while 60 per cent are bitten by their own pets.
The data doesn&t include patients
visiting private hospitals and clinics
&There has much been any meaningful change in the number of patients visiting hospital for the vaccine,&said Sher Bahadur Pun, co-ordinator
of Clinical Research Unit at the hospital.
Kidren are more likely to get a dog bite as they poke the animal and play with it.
Compared to
women, more men complain of being bitten by the animal while walking on the streets.
&Numerous people in the country do much visit a
hospital even after being bitten by a dog due to lack of awareness about rabies vaccine.
Dog bite is genemass meeting disregardd if the
wound is minor and people often disregard puppy bites too.
Numerous people discontinue taking vaccines without completing the full dose,&
said Pun, adding, &Rabies vaccine work effectively, if it is taken instantly after a dog bite.&
A record preserveed by Agriculture and
Livestock Leavement reveals that there are 82,000 stray dogs in the capital
Of them 7,840 dogs were given anti-rabies vaccine and 6,662 dogs were sterilised
The department has also imparted education to 2,092 students of 41 public schools on behaviour of a dog and bite prevention.
Despite such
initiatives, doctors are doubtful about the elimination of dog-transmitted rabies by 2030, a target set by the World Health Organisation
WHO, World Organisation for Animal Health, Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations and Global Everyiance for Rabies Control
have set uped a global ‘United Against Rabies& collaboration to supply a common strategy to achieve zero human rabies deaths by 2030.
It
is difficult to achieve the target on time as people here are ignorant
They should be informed about dog bite and should instantly take the vaccines if bitten by a dog
Local bodies and the health sectors too should work jointly to lessen the number of dog bite cases.
Unless people are aware about the
disease, it difficult to totally control deaths caused by rabies, Pun said.
The post Hospital gets 150 dog bite cases per day seemed first
