11-year-old dog bite victim dies, a day after man’s death at Karachi's JPMC

Karachi's Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) witnessed the tragic deaths of two patients, including an 11-year-old boy from Sanghar, within a span of two days due to rabies. A woman from Hyderabad, currently receiving palliative care at the Indus Hospital, is also battling the deadly infectious disease. The death toll from rabies has now reached 25, with 13 fatalities at Indus Hospital and 8 at JPMC.

Four rabies cases were referred to Indus Hospital from the province's interior regions over the past two months. Dr Irfan Siddiqui, the head of JPMC's emergency centre, emphasized the critical need for proper treatment and controlling the dog population to prevent fatalities. He added that both patients with rabies at JPMC had symptoms strongly indicative of rabies encephalitis, a condition marked by brain tissue inflammation.

The hospital has recorded 8,856 new dog bite cases this year from January to August 20, with 14,704 follow-up doses administered. Six of the eight rabies cases involved Karachi residents, including those from Gulshan-i-Maymar, Lyari, SITE, Ali Muhammad Goth (Taiser Town), Ajmer Nagri, and Korangi. The data underscore an alarming lack of public awareness regarding the severe consequences of dog bites and the critical importance of immediate medical attention post-exposure.

Experts stress the urgency of making appropriate post-exposure prophylaxis available at healthcare facilities and controlling the dog population to save lives. Rabies, primarily transmitted through dog bites, can be effectively prevented through early wound cleansing, timely rabies vaccination, and administration of rabies immunoglobulin when necessary.