Abstract

Pakistan is a developing country having huge burden of communicable disease, now having ever increasing number of non-communicable disease cases. This combine burden of communicable and non-communicable disease is over stretching already scarce health resources. The objective of this study was to accesses the incidence of dog bite in Chountra, District Rawalpindi, Province Punjab, Pakistan. This is descriptive study conducted on medical record of dog bite cases between 2011 and 2013. Total numbers of cases were 150. Most of the cases were registered during summer especially in the months of May to August. Most of the victims were male and found to be more common in children. The commonest site of the dog bite was lower limb. Vaccine availability was 60-70%. For cold chain management of vaccine, the backup generator was in working condition in 75-85% of the times but fuel availability was relatively low around 50-60%. To conclude, in rural setup of Pakistan dog bite cases are considerably high and impose significant burden on health service despite the fact that it is preventable.

Key words: Dog bite, Pakistan, Rabies