KARACHI: The number of deaths from rabies in Sindh has risen to 21 this year after a 24-year-old man died at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) on Thursday, while an 11-year-old boy has also been admitted to hospital with suspected rabies encephalitis, health officials said.

Of the 21 reported rabies deaths in Sindh, the officials added that 13 had been recorded at the Indus Hospital in Karachi, seven at the JPMC and one at the Indus Hospital in Badin.

The latest victim, identified as Shehryar, resident of Qayyumabad, was bitten by a dog around two months ago but did not receive post-exposure rabies vaccination following the bite, doctors said.

Dr Irfan Siddiqui, in-charge of the Emergency Department at the JPMC, said Shehryar was brought to the hospital’s emergency department at around 3:40am on Thursday in a critical condition.

Young man dies at JPMC; 11-year-old dog bite-victim who had ‘received’ vaccine four months ago being treated at hospital

He had been suffering from irritability, restlessness and agitation for about a week and had also developed hydrophobia, a characteristic manifestation of rabies in which patients develop fear or difficulty associated with drinking water.

Dr Siddiqui said the patient’s clinical presentation was consistent with rabies encephalitis. His condition deteriorated rapidly and he died at around 9am on Thursday, a little over five hours after being brought to the hospital.

Meanwhile, doctors at the JPMC are also treating an 11-year-old boy as a suspected case of rabies encephalitis, four months after he was reportedly bitten by a dog.

The case is significant as the child’s family claims that he had completed the post-exposure prophylaxis course following the dog bite, hospital officials said.

The boy was brought to the emergency department on Wednesday night with fever and irritability for the previous two to three days and difficulty eating and drinking for around a day.

After initial management in the emergency department, the hospital’s neurology team was called in for assessment. Rabies encephalitis was considered among the possible diagnoses and the child was subsequently admitted to the Federal Government Officers (FGO) Ward under the supervision of the neurology team for further evaluation and management.

The doctors said further assessment would be required to establish the diagnosis and examine the circumstances surrounding the reported dog bite and post-exposure vaccination.

Dr Siddiqui urged people bitten or scratched by dogs or other potentially rabid animals to immediately seek medical attention and receive appropriate post-exposure prophylaxis.

Published in Dawn, August 21st, 2026