Health centres run out of rabies vaccine

Panaji: Health centres attached to the directorate of health services (DHS) have ran out of stock of rabies vaccines, even as health minister Vishwajit Rane on Thursday tweeted that the DHS has procured 2,000 vials of the vaccine.

Rane tweeted: “The people of #Goa need not fear regarding shortage of anti-rabies vaccination, we have procured approximately 2000 vials. The FDA & our department are doing their best to stock more.”

Most of the health centres have reported zero stock of the vaccine that is routinely used to treat dog bites.

The Goa medical college (GMC) and hospital though has some in store, the situation is precarious as the shortage is countrywide.

On Wednesday, Rane told TOI he was aware of the problem and had issued directives to the DHS to procure the much-needed vaccines in adequate quantity.

The health minister said DHS had contacted one or two private distributors in this regard. “We are trying to do our best to procure adequate stock of vaccines,” the minister said.

A senior gov ernment hospital doctor said the hospital has adequate stock of vaccines, though the problem has been a recurring one over the last few months. Some private pharmacies are running out of the vaccine and serum drug.

Raj Vaidya of Hindu Pharmacy said the pharmacy was not running short of the vaccine. Albert De Sa, president of the Chemist and Druggist Association of Goa, said it’s only some wholesalers who are facing the shortage and not retailers.

De Sa said the problem with supply of anti-rabies drugs is more to do with reliance on import for raw materials. Also, fluctuations in exchange rate may have added to the problem.

A DHS official said more than 50 dog bite cases are reported across the state every day, and since 2012 over a lakh cases were registered, including 35 deaths.

A DHS official said until the stray population contained, it is difficult to resolve the problem, adding the government should look into the issue seriously.