Karachi: A 17 year old girl from Orangi Town died of rabies encephalitis at Indus Hospital, Korangi, on Wednesday after what doctors described as a delayed and incomplete response to a stray dog bite, taking the city’s reported rabies toll linked to the hospital this year to eight amid a continuing surge in animal bite cases.
Hospital officials said the patient was bitten on the thumb about a month ago by an unknown stray dog in Orangi Town.
Her family first took her to a private hospital in North Nazimabad where she received a dose of anti rabies vaccine, but rabies immunoglobulin was not administered and the full post exposure course was not completed, according to the history shared with doctors.
The girl began developing classic symptoms last Friday, including hydrophobia, aerophobia and severe agitation and restlessness, signs that typically appear once the virus has reached the brain and inflammation has set in.
She was taken to Aga Khan University Hospital in a critically advanced stage, remained there briefly and was then referred to Indus Hospital Korangi, where she died earlier today.
Clinicians said the case reflects a repeated and deadly pattern seen in Karachi and other parts of Sindh where bite victims either do not reach a facility in time, do not receive rabies immunoglobulin when it is clinically required, or discontinue the vaccine schedule after one or two doses, falsely assuming they are protected.
Indus Hospital officials said the facility has managed more than 16,000 animal bite cases this year, highlighting the scale of exposure in Karachi’s high risk localities. They added that rabies deaths, though far fewer than bite cases, remain a serious and preventable outcome when post exposure prophylaxis is delayed, incomplete or incorrect.
Rabies is preventable if a bite victim immediately washes the wound thoroughly with soap and running water, seeks prompt medical care, and completes the recommended post exposure regimen. Doctors say the decision on rabies immunoglobulin is critical, particularly for severe exposures such as deep wounds, bites on the hands and face, multiple bites, or any bite with bleeding. In such situations, immunoglobulin provides instant antibodies at the wound site while the vaccine helps the body build its own longer term immune response.
Once symptoms begin, rabies is almost always fatal. Doctors say care at that stage is largely supportive and palliative, with the focus on reducing suffering, controlling agitation and providing comfort, but survival is exceptionally rare.
Public health specialists warn that Pakistan faces a heavy bite burden every year, with children and women disproportionately affected because they are often less able to defend themselves during attacks and because bites frequently occur in streets, alleys and neighbourhoods where stray dogs move in packs. Clinicians in Karachi say the overwhelming volume of bites has also placed pressure on emergency departments, vaccine supplies and follow up systems, making it harder to ensure that patients complete the full course.
The persistence of rabies deaths, they add, is also a governance failure. Dog population control, waste management, rabies vaccination of dogs and municipal coordination remain fragmented, while policy debates often swing between culling and humane control measures without sustained implementation. Doctors argue that without consistent dog vaccination and a credible approach to population management, hospitals will keep receiving bite victims in large numbers and a preventable disease will keep claiming lives.
Health experts say the tragedy is compounded by how rabies kills. Patients can develop terrifying fear of water and air movement, severe spasms, confusion and agitation. Families often describe it as a miserable death, and doctors say late stage rabies is one of the most distressing infections they manage.
Physicians urged the public not to underestimate any dog or cat bite and not to rely on partial vaccination. They advised that even a small bite on the hand can be high risk because of dense nerve supply and the potential for faster spread of the virus towards the central nervous system.
Indus Hospital staff said they were using the latest case to again appeal for immediate reporting of bites, completion of vaccination schedules and timely administration of immunoglobulin when indicated, particularly for children, women and bite victims with injuries to the hands, face and head.
Despite repeated requests for wider municipal measures and a stronger citywide prevention plan, clinicians say the gap between the number of bites and the number of people who receive complete, timely prophylaxis remains a major public health concern, and every missed dose carries a risk that can later become irreversible.