Karachi: More than 85,000 people, many of them women and children, were bitten and mauled by stray dogs across Sindh in just the first four months of 2026, exposing the scale of the province’s worsening rabies and stray dog crisis.
The alarming statistics were presented to Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Monday, who announced a province-wide anti rabies campaign and declared “zero tolerance” for preventable rabies deaths.
Official figures presented during a high level meeting chaired by the chief minister revealed that 85,891 dog bite cases were reported across Sindh between January and April this year, averaging more than 700 dog attacks every day.
The meeting was informed that over 285,000 dog bite cases had been reported in Sindh during 2025, highlighting the rapidly growing burden of stray dog attacks in urban and rural areas of the province.
Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon, Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho, Local Government Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah, Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah, DG Health Dr Waqar Memon, CEO PPHI Javed Jagirani, Secretary Health Tahir Sangi, senior bureaucrats and representatives from Indus Hospital attended the meeting.
Describing rabies as a deadly but preventable disease, Murad Ali Shah said no citizen should lose life because of delayed treatment, shortage of vaccines or lack of access to rabies immunoglobulin.
“We are adopting a zero tolerance policy on preventable rabies deaths,” the chief minister said while directing all health facilities to ensure uninterrupted availability of anti rabies vaccines and immunoglobulin round the clock.
Officials informed the meeting that 278 rabies prevention units and 112 referral centres had been established across Sindh to manage dog bite victims and provide emergency treatment.
The health department said more than 63,000 dog bite victims had already received anti rabies vaccination, while over 8,700 patients had been administered eRIG treatment.
Despite these measures, the extraordinarily high number of dog bite incidents raised serious concerns about the effectiveness of stray dog control operations, particularly in densely populated urban centres and impoverished rural districts where children are often among the worst affected victims.
Murad Ali Shah directed authorities to ensure that no patient was denied treatment because of shortage of medicines, vaccines or healthcare facilities.
The chief minister also ordered the launch of a province-wide anti rabies awareness campaign involving the health department, local government institutions, rescue services, schools, media organisations and civil society groups.
Officials informed the meeting that a seven day awareness campaign had already been launched through television, print media, social media and educational institutions, while the Sindh information department had been directed to intensify messaging in Sindhi, Urdu and English.
The meeting was also informed that an ARV patient tracking system was being developed for real time monitoring of dog bite cases, vaccinations and follow up doses across Sindh.
Murad Ali Shah appreciated the technology based surveillance initiative and said faster response and monitoring systems were essential to saving lives.
Officials further briefed the meeting that stray dog sterilisation and vaccination campaigns were underway in 20 districts of Sindh under what authorities described as a humane and scientific strategy.
So far, over 25,500 stray dogs had been sterilised, while more than 36,900 dogs had been vaccinated against rabies, the meeting was told.
Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho informed participants that 11 additional rabies control centres would soon become operational to improve treatment access for dog bite victims.
The chief minister also paid tribute to renowned infectious diseases expert Dr Naseem Salahuddin for her lifelong struggle against rabies and said her efforts for a rabies free Pakistan would continue to inspire public health authorities.
Public health experts have repeatedly warned that Pakistan continues to face a serious rabies threat due to uncontrolled stray dog populations, poor public awareness, delayed treatment and gaps in emergency vaccine access, especially in underserved areas.
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