At least fifty people were injured by stray dogs in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Tuesday and the incident also exposed alleged murky deals by the doctors in the district as poor patients are made to buy anti-rabies vaccines from an open market.
Reports reaching media said that a pack of stray dogs in Kantbagh and its adjoining areas today morning and attacked scores of people.
In the incident, 50 persons were injured and all of them were taken to District Hospital Baramulla for treatment, they said.
However, there was lack of vaccines at the hospital and created difficulties for relatives of the victims who had to buy them from private medical stores at higher rates, some attendants told media.
Meanwhile, Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Baramulla Dr Bashir Ahmad Chalkoo when contacted told media that instructions have been issued to all the hospitals to make available all kind of emergency vaccines including those used against dog bites.
The CMO said that he will look into the matter as to why the hospital was lacking the vaccine.
A medical officer told media that the vaccine should be available in all peripheral hospital and other health institutions.
“As per health guideline all type of vaccine including Anti-Rabies should only be a government supply to hospitals and it should be available 24×7 in the hospitals.”
Today’s incident, he said indicates that the government supply of the anti-Rabies vaccines was sold in the back market which suggests that some doctors are in league with the medical stores.
