Karachi (AsiaNews) – A boy and a girl have died of rabies in a Karachi hospital after being bitten by dogs that had not been vaccinated against rabies. This highlights what doctors and human rights activists describe as an increasingly serious and, to a large extent, preventable health crisis in the Pakistani province of Sindh.
Abia, aged 6, daughter of Nauman from Hyderabad, and Waqar, aged 4, son of Sultan from Dadu, have died at the Indus Hospital in Karachi.
Hospital authorities have stated that neither child had received the rabies vaccine after being bitten. Their deaths have brought the number of rabies-related deaths recorded in Sindh in 2026 to at least 37, according to figures cited by health authorities and medical sources. Furthermore, these deaths have reignited concerns about the huge number of dog attacks across the province.
Vulnerable people: the first victims
According to Kashif Anthony, a human rights activist from Karachi, rabies disproportionately affects those least able to protect themselves. Children are often the victims, whilst poor families, day labourers and residents of disadvantaged communities may face particular difficulties in reaching health centres following a bite. According to the social teaching of the Catholic Church, he stated, the issue also raises a fundamental question of human dignity: no child should die from a disease that can be prevented through vaccination, responsible public policies and timely medical intervention.
At the same time, protecting human life does not mean neglecting the proper treatment of animals. A comprehensive response can combine mass dog vaccination, sterilisation, surveillance, responsible management of the dog population, public education and rapid access to post-exposure prophylaxis, he added.
Data from the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA)
According to data presented by the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA), 285,000 cases of dog bites were reported in Sindh in 2025, whilst more than 83,000 were recorded in the first quarter of 2026. Other official figures cited in recent reports point to an even higher number of cases, with more than 85,000 cases recorded in the first four months of this year.
Dr Mirza Ali Azhar, a senior representative of the PMA, has stated that the scale of the crisis requires intervention “with the same urgency as a wartime emergency”. “We have to find a way out of this situation,” he said, advocating a strategy based on the capture, isolation, vaccination and sterilisation of stray dogs.
Dr Azhar added that the authorities have failed to establish or consistently implement such a system for many years. “So far this year, 21 people have died of rabies, including children,” he said, warning that the official figure may underestimate the true toll, as many victims die at home before reaching hospital.
Dr Azhar argued that government policy has focused too much on the treatment of rabies rather than on the prevention of dog bites.
“Officials always talk about rabies prevention, rabies vaccination and rabies control without realising that rabies is the consequence of a wound inflicted by a potentially rabid animal, particularly dogs. If there are no dog bites, there is no rabies,” he stated.
The need for humans to control the dog population
Dr Shahid Ibrahim Mamsa stated that the situation calls for urgent measures to protect human life. “If we believe that human life is more valuable than that of stray dogs, then we will have to make the difficult decision to carry out selective culling. Otherwise, cases of dog bites and deaths from rabies will continue to occur,” he said. He also called for funds allocated to the treatment of rabies victims to be redirected towards the prevention of dog bites.
Furthermore, Dr Muhammad Ismail Memon stated that the primary responsibility for controlling the stray dog population lies with the provincial government. “The PMA, as a key stakeholder, can offer advice, suggestions and guidelines,” he said, highlighting the lack of reliable data on the dog population and the insufficient resources for vaccination and sterilisation.
The government has improved infrastructure for rabies treatment: according to officials, 278 anti-rabies centres have been upgraded and 138,000 doses of vaccine have been administered, thereby increasing treatment capacity. Furthermore, the Sindh Rabies Control Programme has reported that it has neutered more than 25,500 dogs and vaccinated more than 36,900 dogs across 20 districts.
However, doctors maintain that these measures remain insufficient given the scale of the problem. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends vaccinating at least 70 per cent of the dog population in affected areas to curb the transmission of rabies.
Human dignity and public responsibility
For families such as Abia’s and Waqar’s, however, the debate is painfully topical. Their deaths highlight the need for prompt treatment following a bite, whilst also bringing to light a wider failure to prevent attacks in the first place.
Dr Mamsa has proposed compensation of 10 million rupees (around 32,000 euros) for the families of those who have died from rabies and compensation of between 1 million and 3 million rupees (between around 3,200 and 9,600 euros) for victims of dog bites, depending on the severity of the injuries sustained.
Ultimately, this increasingly serious crisis is a matter of human dignity and public responsibility. Doctors argue that Sindh needs a long-term strategy combining dog vaccination, sterilisation, responsible management of the dog population, public awareness campaigns and rapid access to anti-rabies treatment.
Without these preventive measures, hospitals will continue to deal with the consequences, whilst the most vulnerable members of the public – particularly children – will remain exposed to a disease that should no longer be claiming any more victims.
