The Hindu : Shortage of vaccine hits dog-bite victims

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Apr 07, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu-Chennai

Shortage of vaccine hits dog-bite victims

By K. Lakshmi

CHENNAI APRIL 6. Instances of shortage of anti-rabies vaccine in the Government hospital sector have been coming to light, forcing some dog-bite victims to spend a considerable sum to get vaccinated privately.

The case of V. Sekar Babu, a resident of Ambattur is one of those in point. He had to run from one city hospital to another, to get treated for dog bite. Mr. Sekar Babu who was bitten by a dog near his residence a few days ago went to Government General Hospital for treatment. After a long wait for more than two hours in the morning, he was not given a second dose of the vaccine due to `shortage of drugs in the hospital'.

His medical slip records a referral to Saidapet Government Hospital where a similar situation awaited him. Only after he threatened to take up the issue with public health administrators at a senior level over the alleged lack of vaccines, was he finally vaccinated in the afternoon.

An average of 60 patients are treated a day in the GH, many of whom are not given anti-rabies vaccine, according to GH sources. With the non-availability of vaccines for about five days recently, at least 300 patients were deprived of help, the sources added.

Currently, the GH has replaced neurogenic anti-rabies vaccine with tissue culture vaccines, which are considered to be more effective and without side effects. The patients are recommended five vaccine shots totalling about three millilitres with a time lag of three days for immunisation, according to a doctor at the GH.

Shakuntala, a resident of Washermanpet lamented, "We entirely depend on government institutions for such drugs as we cannot afford the treatment and the expensive medication." According to GH authorities, non-availability of drugs was due to lack of supply from the Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation. As the hospital has been receiving a large number of patients referred from various centres in the city, the need for drugs was more in GH, say the authorities.

To deal with the crisis of treating the influx of patients for the past five days, the hospital authorities shifted them to the Stanley Hospital and the Saidapet Government Hospital, which comparatively have low patient figure. However, the medical stores department of the GH claimed that they have obtained enough supply of drugs to be used `temporarily' until they receive funds and drugs from the government.

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