KATHMANDU, May 12: Prajol Thapamagar, a ten-year-old boy of Sanga, Kathmandu was complaining that he has been missing classes due to a dog bite.
Thapamagar was taken to Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital (STIDH), Teku after his wounds festered. He said that he was bitten by his pet dog. [break]
Likewise, Ashok Shrestha, 20, of Bidur Municipality-10 came to the hospital after being attacked by stray dogs. The district hospital referred him to the capital for further treatment as the wounds were too big, he said. Doctors told him that he has to get anti rabies´ vaccine administered, which is available only in the capital.
Similarly, Bhagwan Khadga of Kavrepalanchowk said that he has been coming to the capital for vaccination against dog bites. "The vaccine is available in the district hospital but I come to Kathmandu because I think the vaccine here is of better quality," said Khadga.
He said that he was bitten by a dog without any provocation. Khadga intends to sue the dog owner.
The STIDH, popularly known as Teku hospital, said that each day about 200 people visit the hospital for the treatment of dog bite. The hospital said that most of the victims come from the valley and the adjoining districts. The anti rabies vaccine is administered at the hospital free of cost.
"In response to the increasing flow of dog bite victims, we have been running evening counter at the hospital," said Dr Indra Prasad Prajapati, director of the hospital.
The hospital administration said that last month two dog victims admitted in the hospital died due to rabies.
Hum Thapa, a public health inspector at the hospital, said that in the ongoing fiscal year 16 dog victims from various districts have died in the hospital due to rabies infection.
Doctors at the hospital said that rabies could prove fatal if dog victims are not immediately given anti rabies vaccine. "No one should take the risk as the disease is 100 percent fatal," said Dr Rajesh Shah of the hospital.
He said that the government has made the vaccine available for free as it is too costly and poor people cannot afford it.
He said that children are highly vulnerable to dog bites. Dr Shah said that a lot of adults who work till late hours also become victims of dog bites.
A dog victim should take five doses of vaccines within a month and each dose costs Rs 600.
"One has to spend Rs 3,000 on vaccines only; not everyone can afford them," added Dr Shah. He said that a significant numbers of scrap collectors become victims of dog bites. "If the government does not provide the vaccines free of cost, most of them would go without treatment," added Dr Shah.
The Epidemiology and Disease Control Division (EDCD) of Department of Health Services (DoHS) said that over 50,000 people across the country got bitten by dogs with 50 among them dying due to rabies. The EDCD claim that fatality from rabies has decreased after the government started providing vaccine free of cost. Earlier, over 200 people died each year due to the disease.
According to Dr G D Thakur, Director at EDCD, the government spends over Rs 100 millions in the treatment of dog bites. "We have been spending millions in the treatment of dog bites and its prevention," said Dr Thakur. Director Thakur concedes that the preventive measures taken by the government seem less effective as more people become victimized by dogs every day.
In the past, the local administration used to kill stray dogs by poisoning them but the practice was halted following intense pressure from animal rights activists. The EDCD said that veterinary office and the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) are responsible to control the dogs and administer anti rabies vaccine to them. Dr Thakur said that due to lack of coordination between concerned government offices, preventive measures have becomes less effective.
Dog´s family planning office shut down
The Kathmandu Animal Treatment Center (KAT), a non government organization (NGO) that has been working to reduce the number of stray dogs in the Kathmandu Valley has shut down.
The organization, which used to sterilize female dogs and immunize other stray dogs with anti rabies vaccine, shut down due to financial crisis. The organization had been launching humane management of street dogs since 2004 to control excessive population of stray dogs.
"Due to financial crisis all the employees have resigned," said Bal Krishna Dhungel, an ex-employee of the organization. "Since the last three months no dog has been sterilized or immunized." As female dogs are responsible for breeding, the organization collects mostly females. The organization claimed that it has sterilized over 12,000 female dogs picked up from the streets of valley. The organization also used to treat the wounded and ailing dogs.
The Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC), which is main partner of the organization, is unaware about the closure of the organization.
"We stopped to kill dogs after several animal rights organizations protested," said Narendra Bajracharya, chief of Health department of KMC. He said that stray dogs become big nuisance to metropolis and additional measures are needed to control their population.
The KMC has never had to bother about controlling stray dogs since 2004 after KAT stepped in to sterilize the female dogs and vaccinate other stray dogs. It is believed that that number of street dogs has been rising with the organization becoming less active.
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