Stray dog attacks one-and-a-half-year-old

The incident occurred at Kasarwadi on Sunday when Nirmala Nimbalkar was returning home with her granddaughter,Tanvi,after making purchases at a nearby shop.

Both the woman and her granddaughter were bitten by the mongrel on their lower limbs. The bites were so deep that both were bleeding all the way to hospital,about four km away. “The dog first pounced on me. Though I tried to free myself from it,the dog wouldn’t let go. It also attacked my granddaughter who was with me. Finally,some youths came to our rescue,” said Nimbalkar. It could not be established whether it was a rabid dog.

After reaching PCMC-run YCM Hospital,the patients had to wait their turn before being administered the anti-rabies vaccine. They were advised to take at least five ARVs on different days. On Tuesday,when they went to the YCMH for the second dose,they again had to wait for an hour for treatment.

PCMC veterinary chief Dr Satish Gore said that a separate anti-rabies clinic to attend to dog bite cases was needed on a priority basis and his department will soon take up the issue with the municipal commissioner. “There is no denying that hospitals should address dog bite cases on priority. After a dog bite,the wound requires proper cleaning and washing before being administered the ARV,” he said. The ARVs are provided free of cost at PCMC-run hospitals.

However,YCMH medical superintendent Dr Anand Jagdale said he was not in favour of an anti-rabies clinic. “Every dog bite case should be referred to a surgeon,a physician and a peadiatrician. If a clinic is set up,these three experts will have to sit the entire day in the clinic. Certain days,we get only one or two dog bite cases,and sometimes up to 10 cases. In such a scenario,the three experts will have to sit idle,” he said. Dr Jagdale,however,said at YCMH,dog bite cases are always attended to on priority basis.

Meanwhile,a day after his family members were bitten by a stray dog,Sachin Nimbalkar,lodged a complaint with PCMC’s dog catching squad which caught 10 mongrels,but the one which bit the woman and the child remained elusive. Civic activist Kannan Nambiar said the PCMC should launch a drive to catch stray dogs creating trouble in residential areas. “Not all stray dogs should be caught and bundled off. There are some which keep thieves away. So,only those which bite should be sent to the dog pounds,” he said.