An eight-year-old schoolboy has become the latest victim of a stray dog attack after suffering a nasty bite wound on his leg.
He was taken to Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC) by his father who was concerned that rabies injections were not freely available, despite there being no cases of the viral disease in the kingdom for decades.
Indian expatriate Biju George, 39, who lives in a residential apartment opposite the hospital, was walking to his parked car with his son, Edwin, last Thursday (Oct 13), when the incident happened.
“The dog suddenly attacked him - biting him on the thigh, right above his right knee,” Mr George told the GDN. “I was terrified, and my son was shocked and crying out in pain.
“Segayya is not a remote area – it is a populated residential and commercial place. There are packs of strays on this stretch of the road which can turn hostile anytime - there should be a solution for this menace.
“The wound looked nasty so I rushed him to SMC, which was fortunately right across the street from where the incident occurred.
“After applying some medicine, a nurse tied a cloth bandage over it. I was told a tetanus shot was not available and that a rabies shot was not necessary.
“I was still concerned, so I took him to a nearby private hospital where he received a tetanus shot.”
The worried father then took his child to Saudi Arabia the following day where his wife works as a nurse. The child is now staying with his mother and has received the first of five doses of a rabies vaccine.
“I did not want to take a risk so I decided to get him vaccinated in Saudi – my wife works in a hospital in Dammam and luckily I was apply to apply for online visas.”
His parental concern is perhaps understandable as, according to the World Health Organisation, his home country is endemic for rabies and accounts for 36 per cent of the world’s rabies deaths. However, the true burden of rabies in India is not fully known, although available information suggests it causes between 18,000 to 20,000 deaths every year.
Rabies is a preventable viral disease most often transmitted through the bite of a rabid animal. The rabies virus infects the central nervous system of mammals, ultimately causing disease in the brain and death.
On the Ministry of Health e-services platform a bite victim made a similar enquiry and a senior medic replied: “The Kingdom of Bahrain has been rabies free for the last decades - no cases of rabies have been diagnosed and/or reported to the Public Health Directorate.
“However, a rabies vaccine is available at public health directorate for post exposure prophylaxis for suspected rabies exposure outside Bahrain.”
He added that a vaccine is only available at main governmental hospitals if a risk of rabies is suspected by the treating physician.
Meanwhile, stray dog attacks have been repeatedly reported across Bahrain. Recently a 50-year-old Indian expatriate suffered multiple bleeding bite wounds after she was attacked by a pack in Gudaibiya in July.
The GDN reported that Philomena Crasta, was treated with a tetanus shot for seven bite wounds, and medication at the SMC.
Bahrain Animals Rescue Centre (BARC) volunteer Mona Al Daaysi, supports a comprehensive Catch, Neuter, and Release (CNR) programme and has urged the government to set aside more funds for it.
“We need to address the root cause rather than just treating the symptoms, which is akin to putting a bandage on a bleeding wound,” she said.
“We need a comprehensive CNR programme, which is currently moving too slowly and a sufficient budget set aside for it.
“Unless we address the issue of strays multiplying rapidly, the problem will persist. We can limit their reproduction with the CNR, and their numbers will gradually decrease, putting an end to the crisis.”
She believes the strays’ wild nature can sometimes make them ferocious. “They are on the streets, struggling to survive; they multiply quickly and will soon run out of food in an area, causing fights over territory, forcing them to migrate to other areas,” she added.
raji@gdnmedia,bh
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