Panaji/Colva: Amid a rising number of dog bite cases, Goa is facing an acute shortage of anti-rabies vaccines. With several health centres running thin on these supplies, people in need often have to do rounds of health centres in search for the lifesaving drug.Last year, Goa logged 19,368 dog bite cases as against 17,323 in 2024, with Salcete reporting 5,252, the highest across all talukas.“The shortage of the anti-rabies vaccine is pan-India. Health centres have been continuously calling us for anti-rabies vaccines,” a senior health official told TOI.Last month, Arnaldo Furtado, who was bitten by a dog on Feb 10, had a hard time securing a vaccine at a govt facility. He was bitten near his house in Sernabatim, and travelled nearly 12km to the Cansaulim primary health centre (PHC) only to be told that it was out of stock.PHC staff asked him to try his luck at the Chinchinim health centre, nearly 25km away. Furtado made the journey, only to receive the same response. He was then directed to the urban health centre in Margao, a further 12km away. This trip too proved futile. He then went to the South Goa district hospital, but here too, the vaccine stock was exhausted.Hospital staff suggested that he purchase a vaccine from a pharmacy, and that they would administer it.Furtado later discovered each anti-rabies vial costs about Rs 400 and can be used for four patients. However, once opened, the vaccine remains effective only for four hours. By sheer luck, another dog bite victim at the district hospital had already bought a vial and was waiting for treatment.“I contributed towards the cost of the first dose and managed to receive two doses at the district hospital after the vaccine became available,” said Furtado.Earlier this month, president of Colva traditional fishermen association Thomas Rodrigues went through similar ordeal after he was bitten by a dog on March 4.Rodrigues said he first went to the Colva sub-health centre, only to be told it had no stock of the anti-rabies vaccine. He was told to either visit the Cansaulim health centre or the South Goa district hospital. At the district hospital, he said, he managed to get vaccinated—but only because another dog-bite victim had left behind the last available dose.Rodrigues has written to the Cansaulim health centre to supply vaccines to the Colva sub-centre. “Colva is a major tourist destination. There have been several incidents of dog-bite incidents on the beach,” he said.Rodrigues also took up the matter at the gram sabha, calling for greater public awareness and urging health services to ensure adequate stock of anti-rabies vaccines to local facilities. Dr. Paresh Lawande, in-charge of the Cansaulim health centre, said, “due to shortage of vaccine, dog bite victims are asked to purchase vaccine doses from pharmacies in the open market”.The senior health official said it is indeed a grave problem they are faced with. “We feel pity that people have to go through this, but we are helpless. A supplier told us that the manufacturer was unable to supply the vaccine due to the paucity of raw material,” she said.Their order for 2,000-3,000 vials, placed months ago, is yet to be delivered, she said, adding that the buffer stock has also been exhausted.She said that 300 vials that were received last week and distributed to high demand centres. “It’s not that we don’t want to buy, but supply is not available,” she said.The directorate of health services has tried other ways to procure vials, but not been successful so far. “We floated short tenders but didn’t receive a single quote. We are doing our best, but this is beyond our control,” she said.The DHS has taken all possible measures to secure the stock of anti-rabies vials, officials said. It has informed food and drugs administration (FDA) about the unavailability of the emergency medicine, as well as requested GMC to share some of its stock.
