Two more people have died of rabies in Sindh, bringing the rabies death toll in the province to 42 according to the latest recorded figure. Health experts have called for stray dogs to be removed from streets across Sindh, saying the animals continue to injure and kill people, including children.
Deaths in Karachi, Hyderabad and a boy's case
The first victim, a 38-year-old named Javed from Hyderabad, died at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) in Karachi. He was admitted on Sunday night with rabies symptoms, four months after a dog bit him on the face, and it remains unclear whether he received preventive treatment after the attack.
The second victim, a 52-year-old named Allahbad, had been referred from Nawabshah to Liaquat University Hospital in Hyderabad, where he died on Monday afternoon. Rabies is a viral infection that is almost always fatal once symptoms appear, which is why doctors focus on treatment soon after a bite.
Separately, the Sindh Health Department confirmed that an 11-year-old boy died of rabies in Hyderabad after a stray dog bite went untreated for months. According to the department, a dog bit Inam, a resident of Latifabad, on the arm about two months earlier, but he did not tell his family, so he never received timely anti-rabies vaccination. District Health Officer Dr Pir Ghulam Hussain said the boy was first taken to Jinnah Hospital in Karachi, where doctors confirmed rabies, before being transferred to Liaquat University Hospital on October 13. With his death, health officials said, the number of children killed by dog bites in Hyderabad district this year has risen to four.
Experts call for shelters and faster treatment
Dr Mirza Ali Azhar, a representative of the Pakistan Medical Association, criticised the government's response to stray dog attacks. He urged authorities to capture stray dogs and move them to designated shelters, where they could be neutered and fed with help from animal rights activists and local authorities. He also cited a recent study by the Indus Hospital, which detected rabies virus RNA, a form of genetic material, in 64 percent of samples taken from dog-bite wounds.
Health experts also warned that many rabies cases go unreported, because some victims rely on home remedies or faith healers instead of seeking medical care. They stressed public awareness, humane stray dog population control, and timely access to rabies vaccines and immunoglobulin, an antibody injection, at hospitals. Doctors advise anyone bitten or scratched by a dog to wash the wound with soap and running water for at least 15 minutes and seek urgent medical care.
Health monitors had earlier put the rabies death toll in the province near 40 for 2026. The earlier count and the latest recorded total differ slightly, so the figures are best read as approximate.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- Earlier in October: Sindh recorded another rabies death linked to a dog bite in Tharparkar.
- October 13: The 11-year-old boy, Inam, was transferred from Jinnah Hospital in Karachi to Liaquat University Hospital in Hyderabad.
- Sunday night: Javed, 38, was admitted to JPMC in Karachi with rabies symptoms.
- Monday afternoon: Allahbad, 52, died at Liaquat University Hospital in Hyderabad.
- Latest update: the recorded rabies death toll in Sindh stands at 42.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Sindh mein rabies se maut ki tadad 42 tak pohanch gayi hai, aur hal hi mein do aur log is marz se fout ho gaye. Kutta kaat le to zakhm ko sabun aur behte paani se kam az kam 15 minute dhona chahiye, aur foran doctor ke paas jana zaroori hai. Maahireen kehte hain ke aawara kutton ko qabu karke shelter mein rakhna aur vaccine waqt par lagwana bahut ahem hai. Dam darood ya ghar ke totkon par bharosa karne ke bajaye hospital jana hi sahi faisla hai.
