Dog-bite cases on rise in Punjab, Ludhiana worst-hit district

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 2

After a dip in Covid lockdown months, dog-bite cases in the state are witnessing a steady rise again. The number of 1.10 lakh in 2020 was almost 20 per cent less as compared to the average cases reported in state government hospitals in 2019, which stood at 1.34 lakh. However, the cases started increasing this year. Till July, around 73,000 cases have already been reported in state government hospitals.

State programme officer for rabies Dr Preeti Thaware said people avoided going outside during the lockdown, which led to a significant decrease in stray dog-bite cases. “But when the lockdown opened, the cases again started increasing,” she said.

Looking at the trend, so far in 2021, the number of cases may increase even more than the cases reported in 2019, she said. Significantly, the number of dog-bite cases is on a continuous increase as despite intervention at the highest level, the coordination between Local Bodies, Rural Development and Panchayats and Animal Husbandry Departments is lacking.

Almost four years have passed but the dog population control programme could not go beyond a few districts. As per the government estimate, at present, the dog population in the state is around 5 lakh and of them, over three lakh are street dogs.

A data of dog-bite cases of the past five years reveals in the last four years, around five lakh cases of dog bites were reported. Ludhiana is the worst affected where around 15,000 cases have been reported. It is followed by Patiala and Jalandhar with around 10,000 cases and Hoshiarpur with more than 9,000 cases. The situation in Sangrur is also not good with more than 6,000 cases.

Booklet on rabies awareness launched

Chandigarh: On the occasion of World Rabies Day recently, director, National Health Mission, Kumar Rahul released a booklet to increase the community awareness about rabies, responsible dog ownership, bite prevention and post exposure prophylaxis. Rahul said rabies was a viral and fatal disease that accounted for 20,000 deaths in India annually but it was entirely avoidable. TNS