Pune: Sassoon Hospital Reports Acute Shortage of Anti-Rabies Serum and Vaccine
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The Sassoon General Hospital (SGH) and BJ Medical College (BJMC) are facing a severe shortage of anti-rabies vaccine (ARV) and anti-rabies serum (ARS) due to a rise in dog bite cases. Many of these cases come from areas under the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), which is supposed to handle such cases, officials said.
According to Hindustan Times, SGH, a tertiary care hospital, is meant to treat only severe animal bite cases. However, it receives 1,200 to 1,300 dog bite cases per month, including minor cases that do not require tertiary care. This puts pressure on its limited ARV and ARS stock.
SGH receives 10,000 ARS vials and 12,000 ARV doses annually. However, due to the high patient load, this stock gets exhausted in just two to three months.
Dog Bite Categories
Dog bites are classified into:
- – Grade I: No treatment required
- – Grade II: Requires vaccination
- – Grade III: Requires vaccination and immunoglobulin (ARS)
The PMC provides dog bite treatment at its maternity homes and clinics. Naidu Hospital, Kamla Nehru Hospital, and Sonawane Hospital also offer round-the-clock treatment for dog bites.
Officials urge PMC to ensure these facilities are used properly to reduce unnecessary patient load at SGH and prevent frequent shortages of life-saving rabies medication.
