Let's talk about dogs

It's not a topic I want to discuss, but it's important as my boyfriend (George) was bitten by a dog during the second week of our holiday.

Unfortunately, like many developing countries, Sri Lanka still has a rabies issue.

In 2022, Sri Lanka launched an ambitious plan to eliminate dog-mediated human rabies by 2026. The plan included:

1. Vaccinating the human population against rabies (from 3 months old). We've seen dedicated rabies clinics at government-run hospitals with free-of-charge vaccines.
2. Mass dog vaccination to control the spread of rabies.

Number 1 is working. Number 2 started in earnest, but such initiatives need continued momentum. Unfortunately, this has not been the case, and the country will fail to meet the target.

There are a few problems we've discussed with locals.

There's been an increase in families owning dogs (especially during Covid). But ownership comes with responsibility. Animals must be registered and have annual vaccinations, and this comes at a price. 

Since Covid, people haven't had the money to keep dogs, and some are mistreated or abandoned (there is a big animal welfare issue which I won't delve into).

But the majority of dogs aren't kept as pets. They're either feral or street dogs. Some people don't want to own a dog and have the responsibility of vaccinations and care. Instead, they may feed a street dog, who, as a consequence, becomes a guard dog for them. But the person feeding the dog has no responsibility for it, and the dog has no obedience or socialisation skills with humans.

We believe this is the type of dog we encountered in Sigiriya. There are a very high number of street dogs here. It's also mating season and tempers are high.

When we go walking we always ignore the dogs. Many parts of Asia have street dogs but Sigiriya has many more wilder dogs. Unfortunately we met the wrong dog who wasn't going to be ignored. He didn't like George, and he bit him. But, as our guesthouse host explained, if we confronted the guard dog's 'owner', they would deny it was theirs. So no consequences for the dog or 'owner'. 

Anyway, it happened, and I have to commend the government health service here.

We went straight to hospital and spent a total of 3 hours there. It was designated as a major bite. George got a immunoglobulin injection straight into the wound, we waited for 2 hours to check there was no reaction, and then received a rabies vaccination.

This was the first of five injections, as George has not had a rabies vaccination before. We've since been to the hospital for further vaccinations. The final one will be done on return to the UK.

As a paying foreigner, you literally go to the front of the queue. On average, for each vaccination visit, we spent less than 30 minutes in the hospital, and that was mostly dealing with administration. The hospital staff and service have been amazing. The hospitals are basic and overcrowded with waiting patients, but everyone is seen to. 

Thankfully, apart from a sore arm, the patient hasn't complained much.

And the total cost of this medical service? 

£35.