The deceased young man showed severe symptoms that led to his death The young man was immediately transferred to the hospital after the incident

The death of the Iraqi young man "Hamza," aged 36, after being bitten by a dog in the Al-Amiriya area of Baghdad, sparked a wide wave of debate on social media platforms. It also led to the launch of popular campaigns to collect donations and support victims of rabies, alongside officials’ pledges to take urgent measures to curb the spread of stray dogs.

Reports indicated that the young man was immediately transferred to the hospital after the incident, where the wound was cleaned and stitched, and he received an anti-rabies serum. However, symptoms of the disease appeared later, including fever, fatigue, and tingling at the site of the bite, before he passed away more than 40 days after the incident.

The family criticizes the absence of medical staff The young man’s family criticized the absence of medical staff in the hospital’s emergency department and expressed doubts about the effectiveness of the serum their son received, considering that this neglect contributed to his death.

On a popular level, activists succeeded in raising millions of Iraqi dinars to allocate them for combating stray dogs. A report indicated that a campaign launched via a WhatsApp group collected 10 million dinars within just three hours, as an initial installment of the 50 million dinars required to tackle the phenomenon in governorates such as Nasiriyah.

For his part, Ali Al-Hamoud, Director of the Veterinary Department in Dhi Qar, confirmed that the department will form a specialized committee to control the spread of stray dogs in coordination with the relevant government authorities. Meanwhile, the office of the Maysan governor issued urgent directives to address the phenomenon, focusing on protecting citizens, especially children and the elderly, from the dangers of rabies.