E-Paper
Punjab: 173 severe dog bite victims not given serum, probe ordered
Explanation sought from civil surgeons of Patiala, Mansa, Fazilka, Kapurthala, Hoshiarpur, SBS Nagar
The Punjab health department has ordered a probe after discovering that 173 victims of grade-3 dog bites were not administered the mandatory anti-rabies serum (ARS). The department has sought explanations from six districts wherein the medication omission happened.
According to health officials, a grade-2 dog bite involves dog’s teeth making contact with the skin without laceration, resulting in marks, scrapes or minor bruising. It requires only anti-rabies vaccines. However, grade-3 bites involve one or multiple transdermal bites or contamination of mucous membranes with saliva and, therefore, required ARS. This year, two of the eight rabies-related deaths occurred because the victims were allegedly not administered the ARS.
In a letter, issued to Patiala, Fazilka, Kapurthala, Hoshiarpur, Mansa and SBS Nagar districts on November 28, the department noted the discrepancies between the number of grade-3 dog bite cases and the number of victims who received ARS. The letter stressed that every grade-3 bite victim was supposed to get ARS as per the guidelines of the National Rabies Control Programme.
Documents show that Mansa district recorded 542 grade-3 dog bite cases in a month, but only 498 victims received ARS. In Kapurthala, only 70 of the 108 grade-3 victims were administered the serum. In Fazilka, 56 such cases were reported, but only 37 victims received the mandatory serum. In Hoshiarpur and SBS Nagar, six grade-3 dog bite victims each did not receive the ARS. In Patiala, the home district of the health minister, around 533 severe dog bite cases were recorded while only 473 victims were administered the ARS.
Earlier, HT had reported that many grade-3 dog bite victims were not given ARS despite the serum being available at respective health centres.
According to department’s data accessed by HT, the state recorded 2.77 lakh dog bite cases till October 30, already surpassing last year’s figure of 2.13 lakh. Of these, 1.9 lakh were grade-2 bite cases, while 43,740 were grade-3.
“We have found a difference in the number of grade-3 dog bite victims and the number related to those who received ARS. If any grade-3 victim did not receive ARS, please explain the reason for the same within a week,” reads the letter issued by the director, health services, to the civil surgeons of the six districts.
