Rabies claims another life in Karachi

KARACHI: Another case of rabies surfaced recently in Karachi. Twelve-year-old boy, Kashif Sohrab, son of Sohrab, was brought to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC) from Thatta with full-blown rabies where he breathed his last shortly after.

Executive Director, JPMC, Dr Seemin Jamali, said that another child of rabies from Thatta was brought in recently at the hospital who succumbed to his ailment He was bitten by a stray dog over a month ago on his shoulder and no immunization procedure was carried out. She claimed that a total of six rabies-related deaths had been reported so far at the JPMC alone this year.

She said that the number of victims had been rising progressively, and at present, they are treating over 100-125 new and old cases daily. She informed that more than 6000 dog-bite cases had been reported at the Rabies Clinic since January 1^st, 2019, out of which six people succumbed to the disease.

In Karachi, more than 15320 dog-bite cases have been reported at the JPMC, Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi, Indus Hospital Karachi, and other hospitals. A total of 11 people have died due to rabies in Karachi so far out of which six were from JPMC and five from the Indus Hospital Karachi.

No rabies-related deaths were reported at the Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi.

When contacted, Director General Health, Sindh, Dr Masood Solangi, stated that a total 69453 dog-bite cases had been reported in across the Sindh province excluding the JPMC, CHK, and the Indus Hospital Karachi.