Epidemiological Factors Influencing Dog Bites in Srinagar

Introduction

Men’s dominant ally, best defense defendant, therefore, the pre-eminent peril detector, dogs became a threat for the humanity inflicting a fatal disease of rabies. Dog bites and open garbage dumps became additional and apparent and are serious and sometimes underestimated public health dilemma in the Kashmir region. The aesthetic and psycho- sociological consequences of trauma caused by a dog bites repeatedly burden the standard of lifetime pertaining to the affected persons and their family. Keeping in sight the importance of this Zoonotic disease, the current study was being planned to hold out with the subsequent objectives:

• To study the epidemiological pattern of dog bites and the occurrence of rabies in humans.
• To study the perception of rabies Vis-a-Vis dog bite exposure among humans.
• To study about the major factors associated with increased dog population Vis-a-Vis spread of rabies The present study was carried in Srinagar district. Diverse sampling plan/data collection strategy was formulated to fulfill the set of objectives. Epidemiological pattern and occurrence of dog bites was collected from the secondary information. As all such cases are shouldered by the most reputed and super specialist hospital in the Valley i.e. Shri Maharaja Hari Singh hospital, the information recorded for such cases was collected from this institute. Regarding perception of people interview schedule was formulated. To exploit the diversity of population response, all the four zones were considered for the present investigation. About the major factors associated with increased dog population two sources i.e, primary and secondary sources had been utilized for identifying the likely factors responsible for increased dog population. These factors primarily incorporated garbage management, specific control measures for dog population by stakeholders and perception of people. Secondary source includes Srinagar Municipal Corporation, for collecting the relevant information [1].

Salient Findings of the Study

The major findings of the study were as follows:

Conclusion

About all those diseases that attack human’s rabies is an example of the best known. Its inimitable infamy is bizarre when assessed on its influence medially, on the human society particularly Medicaid due to lack of discernment. The lack of complete perception might decipher into higher mortality linked to rabies. There is a need for sensitization of people so that their information can be improved and their optimistic attitude could be translated into apt practices for prevention/ control of rabies [3, 4]. It is vital to note that merely looking at the dog bite incidents does not openly imitate the peril of death caused by rabies. Even as conditions such as dog human ratios as well as the number of bite incidents are significant, aspects such as socioeconomic status along with the convenience of getting treatment subsequent a dog bite are possibly most applicable when estimating peril of deaths caused by dog bites. Moreover OGDs are a public health obstacle in the Srinagar area and they commence to stray dogs proliferation. The easy availability of food rendered by the scraps in the garbage not only enhances fertility in dogs, but scavenging makes dogs more prone to attack people. Dogs that get free food from the garbage dropped behind by bakeshops, abattoirs don’t see people as providers of food and are major likely to attack them. The over-population of dogs is therefore produced and supported by the profusion of assets humans endow with, so that it is, in sagacity, a ‘man- made’ dilemma. Till date only around 2,000 sterilizations were conducted and also around 2,000 stray dogs were administered the anti-rabies vaccine, however this is too less in comparison with the total population of dogs and still the ballot of dogs from the particular zones of Srinagar is deficient.

Acknowledgement

Thankfulness can by no means be articulated in words. I am thankful to god, devoid of whom all else counts for zilch. There are numerous hands and hearts behind this effort. I would like to utter my genuine admiration to my mentor Dr.Afzal Hoque Akand (Assistant professor of Division of Veterinary & Animal Husbandry Extension), whose precious advice and insight I could not have completed without, I can’t thank you enough. I am massively grateful to Dr. Abdul Hai Bhat for his direction, support and endurance for the conclusion of this study. To my advice-giving member Dr. Shabeer Ahmad Hamdani (Assistant professor of Division of Veterinary & Animal Husbandry Extension), for his incessant support and guidance in every step of this journey, I am perpetually grateful.