UT Admn’s tall claims lack bite

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 19

While the UT Administration was quick to announce that the working hours of the anti-rabies clinic in Sector 19 will immediately be extended from the existing six to 12 hours in the wake of the deadly dog bite cases reported from the city, nothing has moved in the past 10 days.

The death of a six-year-old girl from Mani Majra due to rabies five days ago after she was bitten, along with 12 other residents, by a ferocious stray dog had left the city in shock and disbelief. The dog bite incident was reported on March 25. After Chandigarh Tribune highlighted the limited availability of vaccination facilities due to the closing of the clinic at 3 pm, the UT Administration had ordered that the working hours be extended.

On April 7, a direction was issued by UT Health Secretary Anurag Aggarwal to extend the working hours of the clinic from 9 am till 8 pm instead of the existing 3 pm.

Aggarwal said, “The issue was being handled by the Municipal Corporation and I need to check with the Municipal Commissioner.”

Sources said extending the working hours was a big challenge for the UT Health Department due to an acute shortage of physicians at government dispensaries. Apart from 117 posts of regular doctor, all health centres in the city are being handled by doctors hired on a contract basis or diverted from the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM).

“Running 42 dispensaries in the morning shift is already a challenge here. If the in charge of one dispensary proceeds on leave, it becomes difficult for us to appoint another doctor for handling the additional charge. How will we manage the second shift?” said an official on condition of anonymity.

The Health Department had also procured vaccine stocks for the emergency wings of the GMSH, Sector 16, and the Civil Hospital, Mani Majra. The vaccines are available round the clock.

Following the incident of a ferocious dog biting 13 Mani Majra residents, including seven children, on March 25, Municipal Corporation officials had stated that nearly 500 dog bite cases were reported in a month.

In the past two years, over 13,000 dog bite cases have been reported from the city. For handling the large number of cases, the city till now had only one civic dispensary that closes at 3 pm everyday and remains closed on Sunday.

The vaccination, that costs Rs 150 at the dispensary, including injections of tetanus, anti-rabies vaccine and immune globulin serum, costs nearly Rs 3,000 in the market. In fact, the erratic supply of the serum, costing Rs 2,500 approximately, at drug stores in the city due to a government cap on the cost, resulting in low profit margins, is another challenge.

While the exact cause why six-year-old Sadia contracted rabies despite being vaccinated could not be ascertained as the family refused to get a postmortem conducted, experts say a delay in administering the animal serum could have been the cause. While she was bitten on her lips (which are close to the brain, where the rabies virus attacks and manifests), she was given the serum after 18 hours of the dog bite.