Tag: Sindh

Sindh has reported its first rabies death of 2026 after an eight-year-old girl from Sanghar district died from the virus, highlighting gaps in dog-bite treatment, post-exposure care and public awareness.

As per the details, the girl was bitten by a stray dog about one-and-a-half months ago and sustained multiple deep wounds. She was initially taken to several public-sector health facilities where post-exposure prophylaxis — treatment given or action taken to prevent disease – was reportedly started.

Dr Gohar Aftab, in-charge of the Dog Bite Clinic at Indus Hospital, said the girl was shifted to Indus Hospital Karachi over the weekend. 

Hospital officials noted that the treatment she received at earlier facilities was incomplete and that rabies vaccine was not administered properly, leaving her unprotected against the virus. Doctors added that the child developed hydrophobia and aerophobia, symptoms of advanced rabies encephalitis, indicating that the disease had reached its final stage.

At Indus Hospital Karachi, the girl received palliative care, as rabies is almost always fatal once clinical symptoms appear.

Health authorities confirmed this was the first rabies death reported in 2026 as the province continues to see a high number of dog-bite incidents.

More than 3,000 dog-bite cases have been recorded in Sindh this month alone, raising concerns about potential new rabies cases in the coming weeks. Public health experts say the child’s death reflects systemic failures rather than an isolated incident.

Experts stress that rabies is preventable if wounds are washed immediately with soap and water for at least 15 minutes, followed by timely and complete administration of rabies vaccine and immunoglobulin in severe cases.

Delays, incomplete vaccination schedules and lack of immunoglobulin continue to contribute to preventable deaths.

Official data shows that 21 people died of rabies in Sindh last year, while over 60,000 dog-bite cases were reported across the province. Most victims live in low-income, rural or peri-urban areas, where access to emergency care and rabies immunoglobulin is limited.

Doctors report that many dog-bite victims either delay seeking care or receive only tetanus injections and antibiotics, while essential steps such as wound washing, rabies vaccination and immunoglobulin are often missed. 

In some cases, patients move between multiple facilities without proper documentation or continuity of care.

The Sindh government has launched a new campaign to curb the province’s soaring population, which grows by nearly 1.4 million people each year, the equivalent of adding a new district annually.

The new strategy focuses on increasing male participation through vasectomy and expanding access to self-administered contraceptives for women. 

Sindh Population Welfare Secretary Hafeezullah Abbasi told a private news channel that the department, in partnership with Johns Hopkins University, plans to carry out door-to-door surveys across all 1,600 union councils.

At the same time, the campaign will engage around five million industrial workers in awareness sessions, while students at schools and universities will also be educated on the consequences of unchecked population growth. 

“Since men are usually the key decision-makers in households, it is crucial to involve them in these programmes,” Abbasi said.

He noted that around 3,000 men in Sindh have already opted for vasectomy, many due to conditions like thalassaemia or HIV/AIDS.

Abbasi added that a wide range of contraceptive services are being offered in coastal and island areas, including sterilisation, birth-spacing devices, pills and Sayana Press, a self-injectable contraceptive that provides protection for three months. 

Since 2018, women in Sindh have used Sayana Press about 1.3 million times. Major hospitals, the provincial health department, and non-governmental organisations often receive contraceptive supplies, including sterilisation kits, IUCDs, implants, injections, and pills, according to Director of Administration Faisal Meher. 

IUCDs that are effective for up to 10 years and implants that last three to five years are also offered by family planning units in 20 gynaecology wards spread throughout nine large hospitals.

Meher said Sindh’s contraceptive prevalence rate stood at 31% in 2017-18, with targets to raise it to 47% by 2025 and 57% by 2030. He pointed out that male sterilisation cases in Karachi have surged in recent years from just 23 to 2,500 in 2022, thanks to more than 1,000 male mobilisers from HANDS being trained to promote vasectomy awareness. 

Highlighting the urgency, Meher noted that early marriages in rural Sindh often result in women having six to eight children by the age of 30. The programme, supported by Johns Hopkins University, SZABIST University and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is designed to help the province meet its Family Planning 2030 commitments.

Vasectomy, a surgical procedure that blocks or cuts the vas deferens, prevents sperm from being released during ejaculation, but does not affect sexual desire, performance or pleasure. Doctors advise that men can typically resume sexual activity within one to two weeks of the procedure.