Two die as hospital lacks rabies vaccine

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It appears health minister b sriramlu is engrossed in arranging mass marriages that would be perhaps

See a rise in his popularity graph even as the health services have hit a new low in gadag distict incidentally sriramlu is the in-charge minster of the district

The lack of rabies vaccination in the health department has resulted in the loss of two lives in the district. Shivamma Jalihal (60) of Ron taluk, and Lakshmamma Arera (11) of Yalaburga in Koppal, died within a span of 10 days this month at Gajendragad government hospital. Sources said the victims died after they failed to procure the life-saving drugs on their own as demanded by the hospital authorities.

“Each vaccine costs about Rs 300 and we were asked to buy five of them. By the time we could manage to get one, it was too late,” rued a relative of one of the victims. Meanwhile, district health officer S K Amaraddi has stated that he would take stern action against the doctors responsible for the death of Shivamma, mainly due to drug scarcity.

However, the officer said that he is yet to get a confirmation about the cause of Lakshmamma’s death.

Only after that he could initiate action against those responsible.

In many health centres across the district, Tetanus Toxoid is being administered for dog-bite cases, sources said, adding: “Though there is a provision to procure drugs with the available hospital funds to meet emergencies at the behest of Taluk Health Protection Committees, the officials are yet to toe the line.”

Officials in the district health department said the district is witnessing a disturbing trend in recent times with a steep rise in dog-bite cases. On Wednesday, over 13 such cases were reported in Gajendragad alone.