Dog bites: Dewathang military hospital received five dog bite cases within three hours on a single day last week. Except for one, it was found that all others were bitten by a rabid dog inside the military campus. On the following day, two more were admitted, after they were also bitten by another dog that tested positive for rabies. Calling it “alarming”, doctors said such incidents were surfacing after two years, although they had dog-bite cases often. Doctor Tshering Dorji of the military hospital said, around 8:30pm on November 14, he received a call from the hospital, saying a girl had been badly bitten on her face by a “mad” dog. “Subsequently, four more cases were registered in a short span of time, which is abnormal,” he said, adding the worst part was the dog had attacked the face, which was rare. “And it was an unprovoked case,” he said. Of the five, one was an adult, while four were school children. Accompanied by a team from the army, Dr Tshering Dorji managed to catch the dog that same night and kept it in captivity for observation. Next day, the dog died and was tested positive for rabies. The following day, on November 15, the hospital received two more children, who were bitten by another rabid dog. The dog, which was also captured and kept under observation, died under similar circumstances the next day. The recent attacks, coupled with high chances of contamination of rabies virus spreading to other dogs, have put authorities on alert. This has led to many in Dewathang catching dogs and cats to get them vaccinated. “By now, we can say that whole of Dewathang residents are susceptible to rabies,” Dr Tshering Dorji said. “Infected dogs would have already spread the virus to other dogs.” On Saturday, a team from the regional livestock development centre, with support from all stakeholders, including the community, started catching dogs and cats, including pets, for vaccination. On the first day, the team managed to treat around 30 dogs and a few cats. More than 50 canines and feline have been vaccinated so far, while the hunt is still on. Veterinary officer Dr Lungten said brain samples of the two dead dogs were sent to the national centre for animal health in Thimphu for further confirmation. They were also investigating dog bite cases and having meetings with people from health, army, schools and local government, providing advocacy programs. Meanwhile, doctors said, while patients with dog bites were normally injected with anti-rabies vaccine, in this case, since the dogs were infected with rabies, they had to mobilise another vaccine called “human rabies immunoglobulin” from the Samdrupjongkhar district hospital. However, Samdrupjongkhar hospital has also run out of the vaccine, and attempts are now being made to get them from the regional hospital in Mongar. Dzongkhag medical officer, Dr Ugyen Wangdi, said they have already informed the regional hospital and, very soon, Dewathang military hospital will receive the immunoglobulin ampoules vaccine. Meanwhile, the first victim, who is an eight-year-old, is still in the hospital. It took the doctors an hour and half to suture her face. She has also been giving her examination from the hospital, although under vigilance of a supervisor. The army has also built a dog pound to keep dogs suspected of rabies. “Although rabies is 100 percent fatal, it’s also 100 percent preventable,” Dr Tshering Dorji said.