Doctors say misconceptions about dog bites linger, more awareness needed in the community

Several years ago, a dog bite meant getting 16 shots of an anti-rabies vaccine on the abdomen. Today, with advanced care, the shots are down to just four or five to prevent the onset of rabies, a deadly viral disease. But misconceptions surrounding what to do when bitten by a dog still linger.

“Many people continue to follow old remedies that are ineffective. Some apply erukkam paal, coffee powder, mud and cow dung on the dog bite. Some tie a piece of cloth above the wound thinking it will arrest the spread of infection. The only thing to do is wash the wound with soap under running water for 15 minutes. Antiseptic solution can then be applied, but medical help must be sought immediately,” said S. Raghunanthanan, professor of medicine, Madras Medical College (MMC) and Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (GH).

Globally, 55,000 people die every year due to rabies. Sixty per cent of these are aged 15 years or below. In India, rabies causes 20,000 deaths every year.

At GH, 95 per cent of animal bite cases are dog bites. The hospital receives 50 to 70 cases of animal bites a day, Dr. Raghunanthanan said.

To prevent rabies, four to five doses of anti-rabies vaccine are administered on the 0, 3, 7, 14 and 28 days of a bite.

“We abandoned the 16-dose vaccine years ago. The present vaccine is safe and it’s the only way to prevent rabies. Rabies is fatal, but 100 per cent preventable. People should not wait to see if the dog lives for 10 days as is done in many cases,” Dr. Raghunanthanan added.

In a study undertaken among school and college students and the adult population in the community, MMC’s Institute of Community Medicine found that among school students, 37.3 per cent thought that rabies could spread through an animal’s licks.

While 42.8 per cent knew rabies was a killer disease, only 15 per cent knew that it cannot be cured. In the community, 33 per cent were aware of the mode of spread and 47 per cent knew it was a killer disease.

No treatment is required if a person feeds or touches a rabies-affected dog or if the dog licks intact skin, said Dr. Raghunanthanan.

“If the dog causes a skin injury or licks the mucus membrane like in the mouth, eyes and nose, vaccination is must. If it bites and a muscle is injured, then vaccination and immunoglobulin should be administered,” he said. He stressed the need for patients to complete the course even if the wound healed.

GH Dean V. Kanagasabai said the government has allotted Rs. 10.5 crore this financial year for the purchase of anti-rabies vaccines for government hospitals in the State. Of this, GH gets Rs. 10 lakh.

On World Rabies Day on Saturday, the hospital has organised an exhibition consisting of posters near the outpatient block. The exhibition will be open between 7.30 a.m. and 1.30 p.m.

Rabies can spread through licks too!

By Express News Service – CHENNAI

Published: 26th September 2013 07:44 AM

Last Updated: 26th September 2013 07:44 AM

  • Health Minister K C Veeramani at the Rabies Awareness exhibition | R Satish Babu
    Health Minister K C Veeramani at the Rabies Awareness exhibition | R Satish Babu

Only close to 50 per cent of school students in the eighth and ninth grades are aware that rabies spreads through dogs, reveals a survey by the Madras Medical College (MMC) and the Institute of Community Medicine.

The survey was released as part of the World Rabies Day awareness campaign at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH) on Wednesday. The campaign comprised an exhibition and a workshop about the disease.

The survey was carried out among 100 government and 100 private school students from eighth and ninth grades, undergraduate students of MMC and the general adult population.

According to the survey, only 51.7 per cent of the students knew that rabies spread through dogs. Even among those who were aware, only 37.3 per cent knew that it can also spread through licks, while 40.3 per cent knew it can spread through scratches. 15 per cent of the students were aware that rabies cannot be cured, while 42.8 percent knew it was a killer disease.

Meanwhile, awareness among rabies among the adult population seemed even lower than that of students. Only 33 per cent of those surveyed knew about the different modes of spreading, but 51 per cent knew it was not curable.

Awareness levels among MBBS students was considerably higher, but even among them, only 58 per cent knew the different modes of spreading. Sixty nine per cent of them knew that vaccination must be taken for even the bite of a pet dog. Minister for Health K C Veeramani, who was present on the occasion, said that all efforts must be taken to spread awareness about rabies as it could be easily prevented.

But despite the availability of vaccination, around 55,000 people die of rabies each year, he said. He appealed to the people to make use of the free rabies vaccination provided at all government hospitals.

RGGGH & MMC dean Dr V Kanagasabai said that the exhibition would be held in various schools in the city as part of the World Rabies Day Awareness Campaign.

http://newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/Rabies-can-spread-through-licks-too/2013/09/26/article1803380.ece

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.