Dog-biting cases and violent attacks on humans have witnessed a sudden surge across the twin-city. As per official statistics, as many as 10,145 dog bite cases were received by the twin-city’s twelve medical institutions including public health centers (PHC) and hospitals run by the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) in 2022.
While 3779 cases have been reported in the first five months this year, 158 cases have been registered in the first 15 days of May, taking the total number of cases to 14,073 in the past 17 months.
28 dog bite cases per day
This translates into an average of around 28 dog-bite victims who visit the civic run healing hubs every day to take the Anti-Rabies vaccine (ARV)- a crucial injection administered to dog bite victims. While one vial of the ARV costs between ₹500 and ₹700 in the market, it is administered for free at the MBMC run medical institutions.
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Usually, doctors recommend four to five doses of the vaccine depending on the nature of the injury. “The health department has received 25,548 and 20,800 ARV’s in 2022 and 2023. The current ARV stock stands at 1600.” said health-in-charge-Dr. Nandkishore Lahane.
Census Done, Count of Dogs Unknown!
Despite conducting a breed wise livestock census under the aegis of the Union Government's Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries (DAHDF) in 2018, the MBMC claims ignorance about the number of dogs present in the twin-city.
The civic administration had deployed 60 contractual computer operators as enumerators who armed with tabs had taken count of the various species of pet and stray animals including- cattle, fowl, dogs, buffalo, sheep and poultry across the 95 wards in the twin-city.
DAHDF app to streamline things
The DAHDF had developed a mobile application software to reduce the time gap in data collection, data processing and report generation. “The entire data count was punched into the system under the supervision of sanitary inspectors in the three month long operation. However, we did not receive the official dog count. We are now planning to conduct a manual survey soon,” said an official from MBMC’s animal husbandry department.
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