Two additional rabies fatalities in Sindh have pushed the recorded death toll to 42, triggering demands from medical specialists to clear stray dogs off streets throughout the province.
Javed, a 38-year-old resident of Hyderabad, was the first victim, passing away at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center in Karachi. After suffering a facial dog bite four months prior, he checked into the hospital on Sunday night exhibiting rabies symptoms, though officials remain uncertain if he obtained preventive care after the incident.
Allahbad, aged 52, was the second fatality, transferred from Nawabshah to Liaquat University Hospital in Hyderabad, where his death occurred on Monday afternoon.
Dr. Mirza Ali Azhar, speaking for the Pakistan Medical Association, condemned official measures regarding stray animal attacks, stating that dogs keep harming and killing citizens, among them minors, throughout Sindh.
He demanded that officials round up stray dogs and move them to specific shelters, allowing animal rights groups and municipal agencies to help feed and sterilize them.
Referring to a recent study by Indus Hospital, Dr. Azhar noted that rabies virus RNA appeared in 64 percent of tested dog-bite wound samples, raising alarms regarding virus transmission in Karachi.
Medical professionals cautioned that numerous rabies infections go unrecorded because affected individuals choose traditional home treatments or faith healers rather than proper medical care.
They emphasized the necessity for public education, compassionate control of stray dog numbers, and prompt availability of rabies vaccines and immunoglobulin at medical facilities.
Immediate washing of wounds and proper post-exposure care can stop rabies, but the condition turns nearly always fatal after symptoms emerge.
