SHILLONG: Cases of dog bites have increased in Shillong and its adjoining areas.
A total of 5,878 dog bite cases were reported in the Anti-Rabies OPD of Pasteur Institute in 2018-19.
Director of Health Services (Research) in- charge of Pasteur Institute, Dr N Wanswett said, “As far as dog bites are concerned, the incidents are high. These are either from pet dogs or stray dogs but the major challenge is stray dogs”.
Besides the 5878 dog bite cases in 2018-19, the number of such cases was 5153 in 2017-18 and in 2016-17 there were 5607 cases. In 2014-15, the number was 3875.
“These were the cases reported in the Anti-Rabies OPD of Pasteur Institute and we are not aware of the cases not reported here”, she said.
Admitting that the issue is serious, Dr Wanswett said that there is no way out to address the problem.
She said last year, four people died due to dog bites.
Apparently, immunization of dogs is a way out but it seems to be an impossible task especially with regard to stray dogs.
It is illegal to catch dogs to eliminate them besides sterilization.