Mayor Karachi Waseem Akhtar revealed that dogs are biting 100-150 people each day in different parts of the city which KMC is unable to control due to lack of resources.
The increasing number of dog population is thought to be the reason of these higher numbers of attack which is the biggest cause of Rabies in Pakistan.
[junkie-alert style=”green”] In 2018 more than 18,000 cases of dog bites were recorded in the metropolitan city which lacks basic vaccination facilities in different districts. [/junkie-alert]
The common victims of these attacks were children and elderly people who are more vulnerable to animal attack. Cases were recorded from different areas of Karachi but these areas are more affected by the problem:
- Ibrahim Hyderi
- Surjani Town
- North Karachi
- New Karachi
- Baldia
- Orangi
- Keamari
- Mehmoodabad
- Liaquatabad
- Federal B Area
- Golimar
Dog bites is the cause of 99% rabies cases in the country but only three hospitals in Karachi provide free vaccination for Rabies which are Karachi Civil Hospital, Jinnah Hospital (JPMC) and The Indus Hospital.
Last year The Rabies Centre at Karachi Civil Hospital vaccinated 10,288 rabies cases and Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre vaccinated 7,697 patients for free. Each year 55,000 people around the globe lose their lives due to Rabies.
Mayor Karachi Waseem Akhtar highlighted that the number of dogs are increasing due to poor garbage management system in the system while Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) lacks the resources and authority to manage it.
He appealed to Sindh Provincial Government to support and help city government to tackle this problem which is affecting the citizens of Karachi.
To cater the problem of dogs previous city governments launched dog killing campaigns which was criticized by citizens.