Canine terror strikes hyderabad city streets

Hyderabad: The incident of a dog biting 15 people in Dharam Karan Road on Tuesday has sent shivers down the spine of many. Dog bite cases are usually reported during summer, but this New Year, in a rather unusual way, caniners have sparked a scare in the city.

In January alone till date 1,504 dog bite cases have been reported at Fever Hospital.

Dr K Shankar, Superintendent, Fever Hospital, said, "About 20 to 25 cases are being reported every day. It is unusual to see so many dog bite cases during winter. Alarmingly, the numbers are expected to rise during summers just like every year."

"Many patients panic and forget that the essential anti-rabies vaccine (ARV) is available at many state-run facilities. Instead of visiting these facilities most of the patients turn up at the hospital and are given tetanus (TT) as well as anti-rabies vaccine (ARV) injection," adds Dr K Shankar.

Dr Mohammed Hashim, Animal Health Clinic, Manikonda says, "The mating season is on and during these times, dogs become aggressive and when one passes by, they feel threatened and nervous. This could trigger ferocity." Dogs get irritated due to lack of water and it could also be a reason, say veterinarians.

In 2018, as many as 15,474 cases of dog bites have been registered at the Fever Hospital which increased to 21,187 in 2019.

People from across the twin cities keep complaining that the civic authorities do not seem to do anything even as the population of canines in streets was rising alarmingly over the last couple of years.

Doctors and veterinarians advise people to keep a bowl of water outside their homes for street dogs to quench their thirst, as studies have shown they become more aggressive in summer due to scarcity in food and water.