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Doctors Suspended Over Fatal Anti-Rabies Vaccine Lapses
9 Sep
Summary
- Five patients died from rabies despite receiving ARV vaccines.
- Chief Secretary ordered an audit of 278 ARV units in Sindh.
- Disciplinary actions taken against doctors, a dispenser, and a midwife.
Disciplinary action has been initiated by the Sindh health department following the deaths of five patients, including minors, who succumbed to rabies despite receiving anti-rabies vaccines (ARV) at designated facilities. As a result, four doctors, a dispenser, and a midwife have been suspended. Explanation letters have been issued to seven hospital heads, including the medical superintendents of Liaquat University Hospital (LUH) and Tando Allahyar district hospital.
These measures were implemented on the directives of Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah after identified lapses in handling anti-rabies vaccination cases. The chief secretary ordered a comprehensive audit of all 278 ARV units across Sindh to identify systemic gaps and ensure adherence to World Health Organisation (WHO) standards.
Investigations revealed that in some cases, patients received the ARV but not the rabies immunoglobulin (RIG), or wounds were not properly managed. This led to mortality even when cases were tracked on a government-developed dashboard. The health department is now integrating ARV cases into its Monitoring and Evaluation and Provincial Disease Surveillance and Response Unit to prevent future occurrences.
Despite these efforts, treatment capacity has increased by nearly 30 per cent compared to the previous year, with approximately 45,000 dog-bite patients treated in the last eight months. The Chief Secretary emphasized that future mismanagement in anti-rabies cases would be considered administrative failures impacting officer evaluations.
