| Topic : Trends in healthcare in India and overseas |
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3 comments
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last activity : 07 06 2010 20:18:04 +0000
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Rabies in India
K S VENKATARAMAN
About Rabies1
Rabies is a viral disease, which is caused by the RNA virus of family Rhabdoviridae and genus Lyssa. Many types of animals can carry the rabies virus including cats, dogs, skunks, bats, monkeys, raccoons, foxes, jackals, mongoose, wolves and other carnivorous wild animals. But the dogs, especially stray dogs are singularly the major cause, leaving others far behind in offence.
Bites by all these animals can turn to be dangerous. Bugs, bees, tortoises, snakes, squirrels, rabbits and birds cannot be hosts to the virus. In medical terms, rabies is a viral encephalomyelitis, almost always fatal to man.
After the bite, the virus reaches the central nervous system through the nerve cells located at the site of bite, scratch or wound. From there, it propagates through all the nerves and ultimately affects almost all the organs. Incubation is completely painless. Its duration depends on the location of bite. But in most cases it is about eight weeks.
The disease often starts with pain or itching in the region of bite, which gets progressively worse, after some period of remission. The patient shows influenza like symptoms with diffuse myalgia, headache, hyperthermia, and sometimes diarrhea and vomiting. They are followed by psychic disturbances. The classic clinical form is characterized by painful spastic cries triggered by visual, auditory or tactile stimuli. One of the most significant signs is spasm of larynx at the sound, sight or touch of water. This reaction, leading to hydrophobia, is characteristic of rabies in human beings. After a comatose phase, death follows within a few days because of cardio-respiratory paralysis. The disease is almost always fatal. Human rabies is caused mostly (95 per cent) through dog bites. Hence for prevention of human rabies, its prevention in dogs is important.
Appalling but Eye-opening Statistics
What may not be known to all is the seriousness of this in India. The figures for the period from 1995 to 2004 reveal that 85% of the rabies deaths occur in India! What a shame! 2
And, this 85% means annually 21404 deaths. Even if a war is being fought regularly every year, it is doubtful if the deaths in action would be this much. We have a government, leaders, a democratic system and what not.
If we have the standard of statistics in India, the actual deaths would certainly be considerably more. Studies conducted by Dr A.P. Galhotra, a professor in veterinary science at the Punjab Agriculture University, show that roughly three million people in India are bitten by dogs every year. Out of these 30,000 die slow, torturous deaths due to rabies.3
The figures are very impressive. Every year 3.6 million persons are bitten by dogs. So Government is not in a position to give free vaccination. In open market the usual dose of three injections cost more than Rs. 400. And in many places it would not be ‘readily’ available.
The second position in this notorious field goes to China, which is a bigger country than India. But it is a very distant second. The annual reported deaths number 2400 a year; nearly one tenth of our achievement! 4
What Are We Doing?
More than twenty thousand deaths in a year should have shaken any human political institution out of its slumber. But not here! Here our politicians are super humans and their samadhis usually become place of worship!
Most of the rabies deaths occur among the poor villagers, for they have no other alternative except leaving it to God and taking a chance without going for costly injections in time.
Sometimes when dog bites occur frequently the local bodies would act. I have seen animal sympathizers, who were not to be seen when the poor children were bitten, would come from nowhere and show their humaneness by threatening the dog-catchers and sending them back! This is first hand information. I have seen this number of times.
We need not hate dogs. But there are methods of bringing down their population and making human life safe. Everybody agrees that the stray dogs are unpredictable and dangerous. Then why some time-bound positive action has not been taken with a goal to reduce such unfortunate human deaths to zero?
While the people in some countries – independent countries – are able to behave responsibly, why it is not possible for Indians? I have seen in some countries, people who bring their dogs out keep them under control; they bring a plastic pouch, gather their dog’s feces in them and put them in trash cans! And, there are no stray animals to be seen anywhere. Why Indians should not at least try to move in that direction?
Introducing any change for the better, - if at all attempted sometimes, - the people belonging to other parties would make so much noise and see that the move is dropped. I am not against free expression of views and exchange of ideas. But all ideas should be received, analyzed and decisions taken. In India our aim seems to be to express ideas only to ensure inaction.
In Chennai, a few years back when the Corporation planned to ban stray cattle within the city, so much noise arose and the authorities bowed before the magnificent power of the people or cattle and withdrew!
Sometime before that when the Chief Minister thought aloud that spitting on the road should be banned, the people showed their democratic power and the plan disappeared once for all!
As the rarest among rare case, smoking was banned in public places; nonchalant smokers are common sight in Chennai.
Unfortunately we do not have political leaders who have time to talk to people on such matters and work for generative public opinion in favor of necessary stern measures. This should be taken up on a war footing. If all the departments and local bodies chalk out a detailed plan and implement it in a concerted manner, can’t we eliminate stray dogs completely within two months?
Is anybody going to justify the death of more than 20000 persons every year for the Sake of stray dogs? Surely he or she would be a person going in a car, safely getting into the bungalow. I am concerned about the helpless poor villagers who have to return to their cottages after toiling in the field in late hours; about the poor rural children who walk miles without even a footwear; about the labor population walking back in night hours after late shift; about the homeless persons sleeping in platforms; and countless similar human beings.
There is no point in offering excuses or in coming out with sacrosanct standpoints. We are told that rabies deaths are increasing every year. More than twenty thousand poor Indians are dying year after year, simply because we have imbecile government.
What can we do?
Sources
1. http://www.deccanchronicle.com/hyderabad/sterilisation-must-rabies-dogged-india-020
2. http://www.worldmapper.org/posters/worldmapper_map237_ver5.pdf
3. http://www.india-today.com/itoday/20000918/health.shtml
4. http://www.terradaily.com/reports/China_number_two_in_world_for_rabies_deaths_govt_999.html
K S Venkataraman is the Associate Editor, Dynamic Youth Online Magazine. He may be reached through e-mail: dynamicyouth_development@yahoo.com
Dynamic Youth is available for free public view in www.dynamicyouth.org
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People usually get rabies when they are bitten by an animal that has the virus. It normally spreads through the saliva of the infected animal. When it's likely that you or a child is at serious risk for rabies, get help right away. Symptoms of rabies might not show up for months, but it is important to receive proper care very soon. When symptoms of rabies appear, people often die within a few days. Early symptoms of rabies in people can include: * Photo: A boy and his dog going for a walk.fever * headache * weakness As it gets worse, symptoms may include: * difficulty sleeping * anxiety * confusion * tingling sensation (usually at the site of the bite) * excitation (being too excited) * hallucinations (seeing things that aren't there) * agitation * salivating (drooling) more than usual * difficulty swallowing * fear of water Help Your Pets Stay Rabies Free Most people who have pets, such as dogs and cats, are very close to their animal companions. You might even have children and pets that are very close to each other. But there are times when pets are also in close contact with wild animals. If your pet is bitten by a wild animal that has rabies, your pet can get sick and die. It could also cause you or a child to get rabies from your sick pet. When a human gets rabies, it's often because a pet got rabies first. The good news is that there are things children and adults alike can do to help make sure your pets never get rabies. That way, they will stay healthy and won't cause humans to get rabies. Things you should do include: * Photo: A veterinarian with a girl and her cat.Take your pets to a veterinarian on a regular basis. They will keep your pets up-to-date on their rabies shots, which helps protect them from rabies. * Talk to your veterinarian about spaying or neutering your pet. This helps cut down on the number of stray animals. * Call animal control to remove all stray animals from your neighborhood. These animals may not have gotten their rabies shot and can give other animals and people rabies. * Remind kids not to go near stray animals and remind them to tell an adult if they see a pet wandering around without any person watching them closely. * Keep your pets indoors. When a dog goes outside, make sure an adult is there to watch it and keep it safe. Make sure children know not to take their pet outside without an adult around. * Do not feed or put water for your pets outside. Keep your garbage covered. These items may cause wild animals to come near your yard or house. Stay Away From Wild Animals Most of the time, rabies is found in wild animals. The main animals that get rabies include raccoons, skunks, foxes and bats. If you see a wild animal acting strangely, stay away from it. Help kids to understand that they should avoid wild animals at all times. Some things to look for are: * General sickness * Problems swallowing * Lots of drool or saliva * An animal that appears more tame than you would expect * An animal that bites at everything * An animal that's having trouble moving or may even be paralyzed Animals that act this way may need to be helped by people who know how to take care of wild animals. Call animal control and make sure the animal gets the help it needs. Sometimes, people may come across a dead animal. Never pick up or touch dead animals and make sure children know to stay away from dead animals. Animals who have died can still give people rabies, especially if they have only been dead for a short time. If a dead animal is spotted, call animal control to properly take care of the animal's body. Get Help If An Animal Bites You Animals can sometimes bite people even when you try to avoid them. If an animal bites you, seek help immediately. Let kids know that they should tell an adult immediately if they are bitten by an animal. Show them how to wash with soap and water so that they will know what to do if they are bitten. They should then be taken to a doctor who will know what to do next. Most of the time, people know when an animal bites them. But that's not always the case with bats, which are one of the main animals that can give you rabies. Bats have small teeth that might not always be felt when they bite and they don't always leave bite marks that are easily seen. Bats can be found indoors or out. Make sure children know to tell an adult when: * a bat comes near or touches them * a bat flies into their room or place where they sleep * they find a dead bat * they hear others talk about touching a living or dead bat