Sehore: Patients hit as no rabies vaccines at district hospital

Sehore (Madhya Pradesh): Cases of dog bites are on the rise in the city but for over a week, anti-rabies vaccine (ARV) is out of stock at the district hospital. Dog-bite patients are finding it difficult to get the life-saving ARV shots, which are available free of cost at district hospitals.

The numbers of stray dogs are increasing in the city and so are the incidents of dog bites. However, there is no anti-rabies vaccine in the district hospital for almost a week while 8-10 cases of dog bites are coming to the hospital daily. But in the absence of injection, patients are being returned without treatment. In such a situation, patients suffering from dog bites are forced to get expensive treatment at private hospitals or private clinics.

The civic body officials are taking no concrete steps against stray dogs, so these stray dogs are biting people frequently. On Thursday, Vikram Suryavanshi, a resident of Mandi area, was bitten by a stray dog. When he reached the district hospital, he was told by the nurse that there is no anti-rabies injection in the hospital. He bought the injection from the medical store for Rs 350.

RMO Dr Naveen Meher and Civil Surgeon Dr Ashok Kumar Manjhi of the district hospital did not receive the phone calls regarding shortage of vaccines while hospital manager Sanjulata Bhargava said we have sought vaccines since the stock got over, but have not received so far. When contacted, CMHO Sehore Sudhir Kumar Dehria said that the district hospital was not in my jurisdiction. “For this, you should talk to civil surgeon Manjhi.”