KL Desk
Srinagar
No anti rabies drugs are available in the SMHS hospital Srinagar. The non availability of medicine has added to the problem of people visiting the hospital for treatment of dog bites.
Every day around 10-20 dog fresh dog bite cases visit SMHS hospital. The scene in peripheral government health facilities is worse. It is around four-fold more than what arrive at SMHS.
On Tuesday morning, Ghulam Ahmad Dar, a driver of Regional Research Institute of Unani Medicine was attacked by a number of dogs near TRC. He was saved by some of the locals present on road that time but when he was shifted to SMHS hospital for the treatment, no medicines were available in the hospital.
Most of the patients of Srinagar city first visit SMHS hospital for the treatment and after each passing year new dog bite cases have overwhelmingly increased. As per SMHS records, in 2006, 3200 dog bite cases were recorded at its Anti Rabies Clinic, while 4155 cases came in 2007; 3772 in 2008; 3960 in 2009;3711 in 2010 and the kept on increased since then.
According to 2011 census there are 12, 69, 751 people living within the limits of Srinagar municipality. The dog human ratio in Srinagar is 1:14, which is alarmingly high compared to the national average of 1:36 [dog: humans].
“From 2005 onwards the dog menace has gripped the valley completely. Since then the daily patient inflow never dropped to less than a hundred fresh cases each day,” said Muhammad Yousuf Dar, a pharmacist who maintains records of the patients treated at Anti Rabies Clinic.
