Cuttack: Non-availability of anti-rabies vaccine (ARV) at Sriram Chandra Bhanja Medical College and Hospital (SCBMCH) here has become a matter of concern for dog-bite victims residing in and around this district.
The hospital authorities have washed their hands off the issue saying they had written to Odisha State Medical Corporation to supply adequate ARV to SCBMCH. Taking advantage of the situation, a private hospital here has been charging a high price for ARV, said the sources.
Even, local private hospitals have engaged agents near the outpatient department (OPD) of Social Preventive Medicine (SPM) ward of SCBMCH to sell ARV to people.
According to experts, at least 60,000 people across the globe die from rabies in a year. At least 30 per cent death due to rabies is reported from India.
According to sources, at least 200 people suffering from dog bites usually come to the SPM ward of SCBMCH daily. However, the premium healthcare institute has been facing shortage of ARV for the past few days.
“Our ARV stock has been exhausted a couple of days back. ARV is not available throughout Odisha. Many hospitals across the state refer dog-bites victims to SCBMCH. Thus, our ARV requirement has gone up manifold. We have apprised the hospital superintendent on the issue,” said Ramchandra Giri, a professor at the SPM ward of SCBMCH.
Notably, private hospitals charge around Rs 500 for a dose of ARV. “I was bitten by a dog recently. I could not get ARV from SCBMCH. So I was prepared to pay up to Rs 500 to get a dose from any private clinic or drugstore,” said Gopal Sahu of Jhanjirimangala area here.
Echoing similar feeling, Nagma Akhtar of Salipur said, “We recently admitted our daughter to SCB recently after a dog-bite, but the doctors said ARV was not available with them.”
When contacted, SCBMCH superintendent Saroj Kumar Sahu said they have raised the issue with the Odisha State Medical Corporation.
However, a senior doctor at SCB claimed they have been facing ARV crunch since November. “India needs 20 million doses of ARV annually. Our country has supplied at least 10,000 doses of ARV to Myanmar recently. But, several states in India are facing ARV shortage,” he said.