Walk through almost any Pakistani city, and you will encounter stray dogs. From informal settlements to some of the country's most affluent neighbourhoods, free-roaming dogs have become part of the urban landscape. We have learned to live with them - or, more accurately, to pretend they are not there.

Children and women are among those frequently exposed to dog attacks, while every year families confront the devastating consequences of rabies. In Sindh alone, 25 people have reportedly died of rabies this year.

Rabies is almost invariably fatal once clinical symptoms appear, but timely wound cleaning, vaccination and, where required, rabies immunoglobulin can prevent the disease after exposure. The real battle, therefore, is not fought when a patient reaches a hospital with encephalitis. It is fought immediately after the bite.

Pakistan must therefore stop treating dog bites as isolated incidents and start treating them as a public-health and municipal-management challenge. There are encouraging examples. In 2022, the Capital Development Authority established........

© The Express Tribune