Six-year-old from Badin dies of rabies despite vaccination

A six-year-old boy from Badin has died of rabies despite receiving anti-rabies vaccine and rabies immunoglobulin, bringing the total number of rabies-related deaths in Sindh this year to 43.

The child died on 24 October at Liaquat University Hospital in Hyderabad. The case was reported on 28 October, and the four-day gap between the death and the report is worth noting: this is not a death that happened today, but one whose details, and the official response to it, have now become public.

Bitten on 29 September

According to Liaquat University Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Ershad Kazmi, the boy was bitten by a dog on 29 September in Goth Bachal Balan, Badin. The same dog attacked seven other people before being killed by local residents.

He was initially taken to Indus Hospital in Badin, where he was discharged. He reportedly received one dose of rabies immunoglobulin and three doses of anti-rabies vaccine at a hospital in Golarchi.

Around two weeks later, he was brought to Liaquat University Hospital with severe symptoms, including hydrophobia, or fear of water, aerophobia, or fear of air drafts, fever, irritability and difficulty breathing.

Doctors found him in critical condition, with rapid breathing, poor blood circulation and weak pulses. Despite emergency treatment, including oxygen, intravenous fluids and medication to support his circulation, his condition did not improve, and he died the same day.

Why this case alarms doctors

Rabies is almost always fatal once symptoms appear. That is why post-exposure treatment is urgent: the vaccine and immunoglobulin are meant to stop the virus before it reaches the nervous system and symptoms develop.

A death after vaccination therefore raises serious questions. The reporting does not answer them, and this draft does not guess. The questions the health department’s investigation must address include whether the wound was washed and treated promptly, whether the full vaccine schedule was completed, whether the immunoglobulin was given correctly, and whether any delay occurred between the bite and treatment.

Each of those steps matters. Rabies treatment is a course, not a single injection, and gaps in any part of it can reduce its protection. Until the investigation reports, however, no single explanation can be presented as the cause in this case.

The fact that seven other people were attacked by the same dog also matters. Their treatment and follow-up are part of the same incident, and the health department’s tracking system, described below, should cover them as well.

Four doctors suspended, seven facilities asked to explain

Sindh Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah has ordered the suspension of four doctors and sought explanations from the heads of seven health facilities over rabies deaths involving patients who had received anti-rabies vaccine and immunoglobulin.

The provincial health department has also introduced a tracking system to investigate every rabies death and identify possible lapses in treatment. The suspensions were ordered following findings from this monitoring process.

That response is significant for two reasons. First, it treats these deaths as a system problem, not as isolated tragedies. Second, it acknowledges that deaths after vaccination are not a single case but a pattern that requires investigation across facilities.

The number behind that pattern is stark: 43 rabies-related deaths in Sindh this year alone. That figure, reported with this case, puts the province’s rabies burden in plain terms. It also follows our coverage earlier this month of a suspected rabies case in Baldia Town, Karachi, involving a 70-year-old man who had been bitten 20 days earlier.

What parents and bite victims should know

Health guidance on dog bites is clear on the immediate steps: wash the wound thoroughly with soap and water, seek medical care the same day, and complete the full course of vaccine doses exactly as directed. Immunoglobulin, where indicated, is given as part of that course.

The Badin case shows why follow-up matters as much as the first visit. A child discharged from one hospital, treated at another, and then brought to a third hospital two weeks later with symptoms, passed through several points of care. A tracking system that follows each patient through the full course could catch gaps before they become fatal.

When did the Badin boy die?

How many rabies deaths has Sindh recorded this year?

What action has the Sindh government taken?

• ProPakistani, “6-Year-Old Dies of Rabies Despite Vaccination in Sindh” (28 October 2026): https://propakistani.pk/2026/10/28/6-year-old-dies-of-rabies-despite-vaccination-in-sindh/
• Feature Pakistan draft, Karachi suspected rabies case, Baldia Town (15 October 2026)