Kutte Ka Katna (Dog Bite) and Rabies in Pakistan: What To Do in the First Hour
Pakistan reported over 97,000 dog bites in a single year and an estimated 2,000–5,000 rabies deaths annually. A sourced guide to washing the wound, vaccination schedules and when it is an emergency.
Rabies is essentially 100% fatal once symptoms begin, and essentially 100% preventable before they do. That gap is the entire story. Pakistan's National Health Management Information System recorded over 97,000 dog bite cases in 2016 alone, with three cities accounting for 84.2% of them — Karachi (59.7%), Peshawar (13.1%) and Hyderabad (11.4%). Because rabies is not a notifiable disease here, the death toll is an estimate rather than a count: 2,000–5,000 human rabies deaths a year ("Rabies in Pakistan: A never ending challenge," PMC).
At a glance
- 97,000+ dog bites reported nationally in 2016; Karachi alone reported ~29,000 in 2025 with 19 rabies deaths
- Estimated 2,000–5,000 rabies deaths a year in Pakistan — under-reported because rabies is not notifiable
- Once symptoms start, rabies is virtually always fatal. There is no treatment at that stage
- Washing the wound with soap and running water for 15 minutes is the single most effective first step
- Vaccination after a bite works — but it is time-critical. Do not wait to see if the dog is "fine"
Kutte ke katne ke baad pehle 60 minute
- Zakham ko sabun aur behte pani se poore 15 minute dhoyen. Yeh sab se ahem qadam hai — sabun rabies virus ko khatam karta hai. Jaldi na karen, poore 15 minute.
- Antiseptic lagayen (povidone-iodine ya jo dastyab ho).
- Zakham ko silwayen nahi — turant tanke lagwane se virus andar band ho sakta hai. Doctor faisla karega.
- Fauran nazdeek tareen hospital jayen jahan anti-rabies vaccine mojood ho. Sarkari hospitals mein aksar muft dastyab hoti hai.
- Mirchi, tel, haldi, mitti ya koi ghareloo totka na lagayen. Yeh faida nahi dete aur infection barha dete hain.
Do not wait to observe the animal. The ten-day observation rule applies to a healthy, owned, vaccinated dog whose owner you know — not to a street dog that ran off. Vaccination started late is far less effective, and there is no way to make up lost time.
Which bites need what
- Category I — touching or feeding an animal, licks on intact skin: no vaccine needed
- Category II — nibbling of uncovered skin, minor scratches without bleeding: wound washing plus vaccine
- Category III — single or multiple deep bites or scratches that break the skin, licks on broken skin, any bite to the head, neck, hands or genitals, or any bat contact: wound washing, vaccine plus rabies immunoglobulin (RIG) infiltrated into the wound
Bites to the face, neck and hands are the most urgent, because the virus travels along nerves and has a shorter distance to reach the brain. Children are bitten on the face far more often than adults, and are the majority of rabies deaths worldwide.
Rabies ki alamat
The incubation period is usually one to three months, but can be days or over a year. Early symptoms are non-specific — fever, headache, and notably pain, tingling or burning at the site of the healed bite. Later come anxiety and agitation, hydrophobia (fear of water, and painful spasms on trying to drink), aerophobia, excessive salivation, confusion, paralysis and coma. By the time these appear, the disease is not survivable. Which is why the whole of rabies medicine happens in the hours after the bite, not after symptoms.
It is not only dogs
Dogs cause the overwhelming majority of human rabies in Pakistan, but cats (billi ka katna), monkeys (bandar ka katna), bats, donkeys, cattle and jackals can all transmit it. Bat exposure counts even without an obvious bite. Livestock bites and scratches are frequently ignored on farms; they should not be.
Prevention — where the veterinarian comes in
Rabies is a One Health problem: the reliable way to stop human deaths is to vaccinate dogs, not to keep treating people afterwards. Mass dog vaccination reaching around 70% of the dog population interrupts transmission.
- Vaccinate your own dogs and cats, and keep the booster schedule — this protects your family and your neighbours' children
- Support catch-neuter-vaccinate-release programmes over culling, which does not reduce rabies
- Teach children not to approach, feed or corner street dogs, and never to disturb a dog that is eating or has puppies
- Pre-exposure vaccination is worth considering for vets, animal handlers, lab staff and people in remote areas far from any vaccine supply
If your pet is due a rabies shot or you need a bite assessed in an animal, you can find a veterinarian on DoctorOS and book directly.
Find care: browse veterinarians near you on DoctorOS — filter by city, distance and rating, and book without a phone call.
Frequently asked questions
Agar kutta paltu hai aur usay teeka laga hua hai, tab bhi vaccine zaroori hai?
Zakham dhona har haal mein zaroori hai, aur doctor se dikhana bhi. Agar kutta paltu hai, us ka rabies vaccination record mojood hai, aur usay 10 din tak dekha ja sakta hai, to doctor vaccine rok sakta hai. Lekin yeh faisla doctor ka hai, aap ka nahi — aur agar zara bhi shak ho to vaccine shuru kar di jati hai.
Kya bacha hua zakham choti si khraash hai to chhor sakte hain?
Nahi. Rabies ke liye zakham ka bara hona zaroori nahi — halki si khraash bhi kaafi hai agar us se khoon nikla ho ya jild toot gayi ho. Chehray, gardan aur hathon par to bilkul intezar na karen.
Kitne teeke lagte hain?
Aam tor par intramuscular schedule mein pehle din, teesre, saatven aur chaudhaven/atthaisven din — doctor ke protocol ke mutabiq. Intradermal schedule kam khuraak mein hota hai aur bohat se sarkari centres wohi istemal karte hain. Poora course mukammal karna zaroori hai; beech mein chhorne se hifazat adhoori reh jati hai.
I was bitten two weeks ago and did nothing. Is it too late?
Go now, today. Post-exposure vaccination is most effective started immediately, but it is still given after a delay because the incubation period is usually weeks to months — there may well be time. What is never useful is deciding it is too late and doing nothing.
Sources
- "Rabies in Pakistan: A never ending challenge" (PMC) — 97,000+ bites in 2016; city distribution; 2,000–5,000 estimated annual deaths
- Jabbar et al., "Rabies in Pakistan: Policies and recommendations," Public Health Challenges (2024)
- "Towards Rabies Elimination in Pakistan: Barriers, Facilitators, and the Role of One Health" (PMC)
For practitioners: if you're a veterinarian, general physician or emergency practitioner in Pakistan, list your practice free on DoctorOS and start taking bookings from patients who are searching for exactly this kind of care.
Cover image: homeless by lazy_and_sleepy, licensed under CC BY 2.0.
