Vol. 59, No. 12, December 2009 861 Students’ Corner Knowledge and practices among the general practitioners of Karachi regarding dog bite management Syed Faraz Ul Hassan Shah, Munazza Jawed, Shanila Nooruddin, Sumaira Afzal, Faisal Sajid, Sana Majeed, Munazza Naveed, Kamal Mustafa, Muhammad Azhar Students, Hamdard College of Medicine and Dentistry, Hamdard University, Karachi, Pakistan. Abstract Objective: To find out the knowledge and practices among the general practitioners (GPs) of Karachi regarding dog bite management. Methods: This cross sectional study was carried out in private and public clinics of Karachi using a pre-tested self-administered questionnaire. The study population was composed of 151 GPs with MBBS degree. Data was analyzed on SPSS version 12.0. Results: Out of total 151 general practitioners, 124 were male and 27 female doctors. The majority (77.5%) of GPs knew the cause of rabies, but only 51.7% knew about the incubation period. Only 19.4% GPs had appropriate knowledge about the first line treatment. Almost all GPs (98%) had no knowledge about the types of anti-rabies vaccine and only 19.2% knew about anti-rabies serum. Conclusion: There is an apparent lack of awareness among GPs regarding appropriate animal wound management and vaccine administration. Reorientation programmes and continued medical education (CME) for GPs are required to highlight WHO guidelines regarding treatment of animal bite (JPMA 59:861; 2009). Introduction Rabies is highly fatal and ends in an extremely painful and torturous death. According to a recent report of World Health Organization (WHO) approximately 55,000 human deaths are reported every year worldwide due to rabies, out of which 32,000 deaths are in Asia. 1,2 As rabies is a non-reportable disease with incidence grossly under reported in Pakistan, 3 it has one of the highest rates; an estimated 2000 to 5000 human cases per year. 4 In Karachi alone, although no population based studies are available, incidence of rabies was estimated at 7 to 9.8 cases per million population annually. 3 All carnivorous animals (dog, cats, fox, jackal, skunk, mongoose, raccoon) and bats are considered potentially rabid and transmission is usually through bite, by licking abraded skin or mucosa or by scratching of an infected animal. 5 Initial symptoms are malaise, headache and fever while later stages include acute pain, violent movement, uncontrolled excitement, depression and inability to swallow water (hydrophobia). In the final stages, the patient begins to have periods of mania and lethargy followed by coma and death due to respiratory insufficiency. 6 Treatment after exposure, known as post- exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is highly successful in preventing the disease, if administered within six days of infection. Washing the wound with soap and tap water for approximately 5 minutes can reduce rabies incidence by up to 65%. 7 As general practitioners (GPs) constitute important individuals for providing first-hand treatment, they are also easily approachable by the victim for the treatment of rabies. The objective of this study was to document the knowledge and practices of GPs in Karachi regarding the management of dog bite.