NO STOCK: An announcement at the K.C. General Hospital in Malleswaram about the non-availability of anti-rabies vaccine. — Photo: Sampath Kumar G.P.

BANGALORE: Even though it is claimed that there is no shortage of anti-rabies vaccine in hospitals in the city, victims of dog bites on Friday found that access to the vaccine is not easy.

Sixteen people, of Lakshmanapuri slum, who suffered dog bites first rushed to a nearby private hospital, but were told that the vaccine was not available there.

Mahesh Yadav, who helped the victims, said the doctors at the hospital advised them to go to a government hospital for treatment.

At K.C. General Hospital, the victims were told that there was no stock of the vaccine.

Mr. Yadav said the hospital authorities told them that they did not have the vaccine and suggested that they go to the government hospital at Sriramapuram. But even there it was the same story.

Government hospitals too

In some government hospitals, including Bowring, Victoria and Isolation hospitals, the victims were told to come on Saturday even though they had the vaccine.

When contacted, an official at the Isolation hospital said that even though the hospital had stocks of the vaccine, it was not dispensed with after 5 p.m.

"We do not give injections after 5 p.m. that people have to pay for. Come back tomorrow morning," a hospital official said.

The anti-rabies vaccine at the hospital costs Rs. 100 while the market rate is Rs. 370. It is provided free to below poverty line families.

`We have the vaccine'

Superintendent of Isolation hospital C.R. Thyagaraja said he did not know why the hospital refused to provide immediate treatment. "We have the vaccine. There should have been no problem."

According to figures obtained from various government hospitals in the city, more than 5,000 people are bitten by "ownerless" dogs every month, with Victoria Hospital alone getting around 60 dog-bite cases every day. The Isolation hospital registers over 50 cases in a month.

Not for dog bites alone

The anti-rabies vaccine is administered not only in case of dog bites, but also to people bitten by jackals, monkeys, foxes, cats and even for rat and bat bites.

If the course is not started in time, the patient dies a painful death within 48 to 72 hours of the bite, point out doctors.

Six doses required

Any individual bitten by a dog requires six doses of the anti-rabies vaccine.

The first is administered within 24 hours of the bite, and the subsequent ones on the third day, seventh day, fourteenth day, thirtieth day and sixtieth day.

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