A Lack of Rabies Vaccine in Karachi: The Sindh Dog Bite Crisis …

About the Author(s)

Advocate Raja Khan Abro is a seasoned legal professional with expertise in case flow management, specializing in criminal, civil, and family law. Based in Nawabshah, he serves as a Banking Lawyer for NBP Sakrand and practices at the District and Sessions Court Nawabshah. With a commitment to social reform, he frequently writes on pressing public issues, combining legal insights with practical solutions.

A major crisis for Sindh in the year 2024 includes cases of dog bites in which more than 300,000 people suffered throughout the province. Newspaper clippings reveal that 15 people died from serious dog bites; Karachi, being the most affected city, reported 50,000 cases and 18 deaths by stray dog attacks. The lack of rabies vaccine in Karachi points to a much larger and deeply integrated problem.

Experts have accused the provincial government of not having developed serious measures to deal with stray dogs. A rabies vaccination and sterilization pilot project started in 2018 indicated some promise, but the government never provided sustainable programs as a follow-up.

Former Sindh Assembly members from the Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) have expressed worries about the growing number of dog-bite occurrences in the city, as well as the lack of vaccinations in both government and private clinics. Several healthcare workers, such as Aftab Gauhar, the head of the Dog Bite Clinic, and Dr. Romana Farhat, the anti-rabies physician, also called for vaccination drives and measures meant to control street dogs.

Systematic pedigree dog legislation was not regarded as necessary since Health Minister Dr. Azra Pechuho said municipal authorities were solely responsible for regulating stray canines. However, there is a lack of coordination and resource mobilization, which has worsened the situation. Some papers and reports suggest that most of the district hospitals in Sindh do not have rabies vaccines, and therefore, patients have to rush to the city of Karachi for treatment. Responsible citizens of Karachi have expressed rising sentiments on such incidents and called on the authorities to make vaccines available and carry out mass drives to eliminate stray dogs.

An animal bite may pose a serious risk to one’s life; in terms of dogs, it may lead to infection and tissue damage, resulting in rabies. Any bite, no matter how slight, needs to be cleaned and requires medical attention. Rabies, which is contracted from the saliva of sick dogs, is nearly always fatal if the illness is left untreated.

Dog bites are divided into three categories: Level 1 exposure, which is substantial contact or abrasion; Level 2, which is skin piercing but not deep penetration; and Level 3, which is deep piercing or multiple bites. In case of a bite, one must wash the wound with soap and water and administer the rabies vaccine.

Rabies is an entirely preventable disease, though the prognosis is always poor once clinical signs of the disease have developed. In particular, once the rabies virus is contracted, the antibacterial treatment called post-exposure prophylaxis effectively prevents the development of the disease if given within 24 hours after the contact.

Most of the criticism resulting from the crisis was directed towards the ruling party in Sindh, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). Public funds have often been allocated to control the stray dog population, but such programs have not succeeded because of bad planning, inefficiency, or corruption.

The problem is the poor accountability of how the budget is spent; the poor implementation of the Sindh Local Government Act means the municipal bodies still suffer from inadequate funding and cannot cope with the problems of urbanization. Lack of resources is a reason given by the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) as well as other local governments; system-related problems and political intervention are also a big part and partial cause of their inaction.

Other countries facing similar challenges have implemented successful models:

India: Sterilisation and vaccination-based animal birth control have brought down rabies deaths in cities like Jaipur through the successful implementation of municipal-NGO collaborations.

Bangladesh: Vaccination drives in Dhaka are not frequent, and this means that steady, well-funded vaccinations are required to control urban rabies hazards.

China: Rabies rates have come down due to mass vaccinations, information crusades, and stringent rules in regard to pet registration.

Iran: Tehran’s policies in humane shelters that are proactive for stray animals and extensive vaccination programs stand as an overall safer strategy regarding human security.

Afghanistan: Lack of resources poses a major factor in responding to rabies, and constant insecurity undercuts its efforts in this regard. However, broad assistance from other countries shows that the best way to get around resource issues is by collaborating.

To address the escalating crisis, the Sindh Government must adopt a comprehensive strategy:

Mass Vaccination Campaigns: Sustainable sterilization for stray dogs should target an annual coverage of seventy percent of the total population, according to the WHO.

Sterilisation Programs: Mass spaying programs must be launched to maintain humane populations’ regulation of free-roaming cats and dogs in the long term.

Strengthening Healthcare Infrastructure: Support the provision of anti-rabies vaccines in all district hospitals.

Transparent Governance: Carry out self-directed inspections to check the usage of money spent on animal control.

Community Engagement: Incorporate and sensitize members of the community regarding the issue of human rabies and the issues of pets.

Legislation and Enforcement: Increase and implement better rules concerning pets and stray animals.

The United Nations has put into place a plan known as “Zero by 30,” which hopes to eliminate human fatalities caused by dog-mediated rabies by 2030, which Sindh should follow. These are primarily leash regulation and punctual mass dog vaccination, raising inhabitants’ awareness, and the implementation of comprehensive health care services. Thus, the association with these global goals will enable Sindh to receive technical and financial assistance from such organizations as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the WOAH.

The rise of stray dogs in the Sindh area is a visual epitome of the failure of government, urbanization, and public management. To resolve this crisis, emergency measures must be implemented, and substantial changes in organizational structures must be undertaken. Sindh has an opportunity to emulate successful practices from other countries that not only address the crisis but also form part of reform measures that reinstate public confidence in governance.

So, the time to act is now, lest more people die from this avoidable problem. By focusing on health, educational, and city development needs, Sindh can turn this into a golden opportunity.

The views and opinions expressed in this article/paper are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Paradigm Shift.