Panic prevails as another dog from Netajinagar found rabid

Pune: One more dog from the Netajinagar area in Wanowrie tested positive for rabies on Thursday, making it the third such case in the last four days.
This has stoked fear among the already nervous residents of a housing society where five children and two adults were bitten by dogs inside one week.
On October 10, the brain tissue of a dog found dead on the premises of the Netajinagar housing society had tested positive for rabies.Experts say the detection of another rabid dog from the same locality indicates rising levels of rabies among the city’s strays. They also said this is a failure of the anti-rabies vaccination of the canines, on which Pune Municipal Corporation spends Rs70 lakh every year.
“We ran the rapid rabies antigen test on another dead dog’s brain tissue from the area and it tested positive for rabies. Three dogs — two from Netajinagar and another from Hinjewadi phase III — have tested positive for rabies within a week,” said Neha Panchamiya, president of RESQ, a city-based animal welfare organization.
“In the light of the Netajinagar incident, PMC should immediately take up an anti-rabies vaccination (ARV) drive of the canines in the surrounding areas. They have to catch and vaccinate every dog within a 1km radius and collar them for identification,” said activist and medical practitioner Sanjay Dabhade.
Besides, local residents need to be sensitized about what to do if bitten by a dog, about the the post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) treatment and how they can be responsible while feeding street animals, he added.
“The civic administration need to first close the overflowing garbage bins in the area and collect garbage on a daily basis. Besides, the civic administration needs to adequately plan and execute animal birth control (ABC) programme,” said Sanjay Patil, vice-president of Indian Medical Association.
““The dog population numbers that the PMC releases is completely outdated, Dabhade said. “It has been years since a proper census was done. Without a proper estimation of animal numbers, no planning can be done or its impact measured,” he added.
When contacted, Vaishali Jadhav, PMC assistant medical officer, said: “We are planning to take up the ARV drive of the canines around the Netajinagar area.”