The death of two children one month after they were treated with an anti-rabies drug has raised questions about its authenticity.

The children, residents of Katakwi district, were last month bitten by a suspected rabid dog. However, they were immediately rushed to the private clinic in Ongongoja for treatment.

According to medics at Katakwi General Hospital, the two fallen children were among the eight people who were bitten by a rabid dog in Okuda parish, Ongongoja sub-county on December 16, 2023.

Katakwi district health officer Dr Simon Ichumar Omeke said the death of the boys aged five and six years this week has raised suspicion that the so-called anti-rabies drug used for treating them was not potent, viable or probably was not the one.

Ichumar said the security personnel have already started investigating the clinic as six people bitten by the suspected rabid dog are undergoing treatment at the Katakwi General Hospital.

Katakwi district health officer Dr Simon Ichumar Omeke. Photo by Emmanuel Alomu)

He advised people who are beaten by dogs to seek treatment only at either Katakwi Hospital or Toroma Health Centre IV.

“We are working with the veterinary department to vaccinate the dogs and I request the owners of the dogs to keep them at home,” he said.

Katakwi district veterinary officer Dr Ariko Onyait said their department on Thursday morning had started vaccinating an estimated 3,000 dogs in the entire Ongongoja.

“We have established the first site of vaccination today near the Abarata-Kere cattle market so that as people come to trade, we shall be vaccinating their dogs,” Onyait said.

He added: “You know Ongongoja borders Karamoja [region], it has many dogs like eight per family because they use them for hunting. The estimated number of dogs in the sub-county are between 2,000 to 3,000”.

Ariko said Katakwi currently has 2,000 doses of vaccines but the district expects to receive more 6,000 doses from the agriculture ministry.

“Vaccinating all the dogs is a remedy to reduce the death of local people. As we are vaccinating, we shall also be killing all the rabid dogs in the district,” Ariko said.

Katakwi District Police Commander Henry Muyondo confirmed that he dispatched the Police officers to escort the DHO to do the verification of the clinic that allegedly treated the children.