First Rabies Case of 2026 Exposes System Gaps, An eight-year-old girl from Jhol in Sanghar district has died of rabies, marking the first confirmed rabies case in Sindh this year and exposing gaps in dog-bite management.
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Doctors at Indus Hospital Karachi said the child had been bitten by a stray dog around one-and-a-half months ago, sustaining multiple deep wounds across her body.
She was taken to several public-sector health facilities where post-exposure treatment was reportedly started, but hospital officials said the vaccination was incomplete and inadequate, leaving her unprotected.
The child developed hydrophobia and aerophobia, symptoms of advanced rabies encephalitis, indicating that the disease had reached its final and irreversible stage before her death.
At Indus Hospital Karachi, she received palliative care, as rabies is almost always fatal once clinical symptoms appear, highlighting systemic failures in timely treatment and awareness.
Health authorities confirmed that this was Sindh’s first rabies death of 2026, amid reports of over 3,000 dog-bite cases this month alone, raising concerns about additional potential rabies cases.
Experts say rabies is entirely preventable through immediate wound washing and timely administration of rabies vaccine and immunoglobulin, yet delayed or incomplete treatment continues to cost lives.
Last year, Sindh recorded 21 rabies deaths and more than 60,000 dog-bite cases, mostly affecting rural and low-income communities with limited access to emergency care.
Doctors note that many victims either delay seeking medical attention or receive only tetanus injections and antibiotics, missing critical rabies vaccination and immunoglobulin steps.
Paediatricians and infectious disease specialists have urged authorities to strengthen dog-bite management, ensure uninterrupted availability of vaccines and immunoglobulin, and launch public awareness campaigns in high-risk areas.
A senior infectious disease expert said, “The tragedy is that this child did everything late because the system failed her. Immediate and proper treatment is the only way to save lives.”
