12-year-old boy dies of rabies at Karachi’s Jinnah Hospital

A 12-year-old boy suffering from rabies died at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), taking the number of rabies-related deaths across Sindh to 41 this year.

According to reports, the child belonged to Jhal Magsi district of Balochistan. He had been bitten by a dog on the face, near his left eye, about a month ago.

The child was administered two doses of the rabies vaccine following the attack but was not given rabies immunoglobulin (RIG), the reports said.

He was brought to Jinnah Hospital with a high fever, hydrophobia (fear of water) and severe agitation. Doctors clinically diagnosed him with rabies encephalitis, but he died during treatment.

The report said Jinnah Hospital had recorded 11 rabies-related deaths this year. Another 29 people had died of the disease at Indus Hospital Karachi, while one death was reported at Indus Hospital Badin, taking the provincial toll to 41.