Spurt in dog bite cases, Telangana sees over 80,281 in 2022 | Hyderabad News
Officials however said a comparison with pandemic years would be incorrect as there were fewer cases registered, owing to lesser animal-human contact following Covid restrictions. In fact, they said there has been a decline in the number of dog bite cases in the city and state since pre-Covid years. In 2019, there were 1.6 lakh cases registered in the state.
The report on dog bite cases was tabled in the Lok Sabha by Bharati Pravin Pawar, minister for state, ministry of health and family welfare. The report stated that Telangana stood eighth in terms of dog bite cases in 2022. The highest number of cases were recorded in Maharashtra (3.4 lakh cases), followed by Tamil Nadu (3.3 lakh cases), Andhra Pradesh (1.69 lakh cases), Uttarakhand (1.62 lakh cases), Karnataka (1.46 lakh cases), Gujarat (1.44 lakh cases), Bihar (1.1 lakh cases) and Telangana.
Officials said the decline in cases from pre-Covid era in Telangana is owing to the strict implementation of Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme. They say 65% of stray dogs in the city have been sterilised under the ABC programme and ongoing sterilisation programmes in neighbouring urban pockets like Warangal and Nizamabad have also helped bring down numbers.
“Usually urban congested areas have more stays and since GHMC, Warangal and Nizamabad together account for 70% of the urban municipal areas, we are seeing a decline in cases,” said a senior official from the veterinary wing of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC). The official added that sterilisation on a mass scale has reduced aggressive behaviour resulting in fewer cases of bites.
Dr K Shankar, superintendent Fever Hospital, which is the nodal centre for treating these cases, said, “We have been seeing a declining trend in dog bites cases. With anti-rabies vaccination being given to dogs during sterilization process, a reduction in rabies cases is being seen too.”
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