I WAS deeply saddened to read Dr Naseem Salahuddin`s article, `An avoidable death` (Sept 28). I kept on thinking about Umar, that young child who died painfully after beingbitten by a rabid dog.
There are hundreds of such cases which go unreported all over the country, especially in rural areas. People suffer greatly because of lack of knowledge and ignorance, as well as because of the absence of a law to force dogkeepers to vaccinate their pets properly.
I do not want to cite examples from developed nations where rabies has been eradicated completely through rigorous vaccination of dogs (not talking about wild animals). Why cannot we do that in Pakistan? Stray dogsinruralareasandurban centres are a serious threat to human life.
Pet dogs which seldom get vaccinated. I would urge our law-makers to make a law to force dog owners to vaccinate their pets regularly and keep a proper record.
In case of violation of such legal binding, there should be severe punishment. At the same time stray dogs should be eliminated through a wellorganised drive.
