Voice 9, New Delhi Bureau: The Karnataka Health Department has issued a directive to all government hospitals to provide the Anti-Rabies Vaccine (ARV) and Rabies Immunoglobulin (RIG) free of charge to all victims of animal bites, regardless of their APL or BPL card status.
A circular was released on Thursday by the
Commissioner of Health and Family Welfare Services of the state, emphasizing
that although rabies is a deadly disease, timely and appropriate treatment can
save lives. The National Rabies Control Program (NRCP) has set the goal of
eliminating dog-bite-mediated rabies by 2030. As of December 5, 2022, rabies
has been declared a notifiable disease in Karnataka.
To ensure the prevention of this fatal disease,
ARV and RIG, which are essential components of the treatment, have been
included in the annual supply provided by the Karnataka State Medical Supplies
Corporation Ltd. It is required that all government hospitals maintain a
sufficient stock of these vaccines.
