The Effect of Lockdown on Patients of Animal Bites coming to the Anti-rabies Clinic of JLN Medical College and Hospital, Ajmer, Rajasthan
Abstract
Background: A pandemic (COVID-19) was caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus which affected the entire world. COVID-19 is a contagious disease, therefore, many countries imposed lockdowns which affected healthcare services everywhere.
Objective: We compared the anti-rabies vaccination trends during the lockdown period of 2020 with those in the same duration of 2018 and 2019 in the anti-rabies clinic of JLNMC, Ajmer.
Methods and Materials: It was a retrospective analytical study. The study period was from Mar 22, 2020, to Jun 30, 2020. The cases of animal bites attending the anti-rabies clinic for ARV at JLNMC, Ajmer, Rajasthan in this period were compared with those in 2018 and 2019.
Results: The number of all anti-rabies vaccines administered was lower in April (731) and May (772) as compared to June (971) in 2020; anti-rabies serum administration was also lower in April (135) and May (170) as compared to June (209) in 2020. The number of cases of animal bites coming to the anti-rabies clinic was 2787 in 2020 which was almost 50% less than the cases in the same duration of 2018 (5138) and 2019 (5543).
Conclusion: During the period of lockdown, the number of cases of animal bites coming to the anti-rabies clinic was less in comparison to the same duration in 2018 and 2019 because of restricted movement and less exposure to street dogs. It may also be possible that reporting of cases of animal bites was less due to the lack of public transport and fear of COVID-19.
How to cite this article:
Bedi R, Meena K, Aleefah KS, Sharma M, Saini VK. The Effect of Lockdown on Patients of Animal Bites coming to the Anti-rabies Clinic of JLN Medical College and Hospital, Ajmer, Rajasthan. APCRI J. 2023;25(1):20-27.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24321/0973.5038.202304
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