Girl bitten by stray dog in Kerala dies of rabies

A 12-year-old girl who was on ventilator support after being bitten by a stray dog a few weeks ago, died of rabies at the Kottayam Medical College on Monday, despite having taken three doses of the anti-rabies vaccine.

Health Department sources said that test results from the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune, Maharashtra confirmed that the girl died due to rabies.

Kerala Health Minister Veena George told reporters that the child's death was 'disheartening.'

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Later, in an official statement, she said steps were being taken to ascertain whether there was any genetic variation in the rabies virus even though mutations in it were rare. A complete genomic analysis of the viruses collected from the patients in the state would be carried out at NIV Pune, she said. Such steps were being taken as people who received both the vaccine and the serum have been infected with rabies, she explained.

The Congress-led UDF opposition took the tragic incident as an opportunity to criticise the state Health Minister by accusing her of not giving due importance to the issue and 'downplaying' it in the assembly when the same was raised by them.

Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the state assembly V D Satheesan, addressing the media, alleged that a child's life was lost as the government did not take the matter seriously. He alleged that the government was acting as a mute spectator to the situation in the state where deaths due to dog bites have become widespread since 2020.

Satheesan further alleged that the anti-rabies vaccine being procured in the state has not been properly tested and while the state Health Minister was not willing to consider this aspect in the House discussions, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had said that a special committee would be appointed to examine quality of the vaccines. He also claimed that the Local Self Government Department has failed to implement the Animal Birth Control (ABC) scheme in the state and as a result there has been an exponential rise in the numbers of canine.

The LoP also alleged that apart from making tall claims about garbage disposal, the state government does not have any effective scheme to deal with waste management which also contributes to the increase in dog numbers and their hostility. Doctors who treated the victim told the media that the girl was bitten on the neck and face and therefore, it was easy for the virus to quickly reach the brain despite administration of immunoglobulins.

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The parents of the girl alleged that they had first taken their daughter to the Perunad Community Health Centre in Pathanamthitta district of Kerala on the morning she was bitten, but it had not been opened then. Meanwhile, Youth Congress workers protested inside the office of the District Medical Officer alleging lapses on the part of the Perunad Community Health Centre.

The girl, a native of Ranni in Pathanamthitta district of Kerala, was bitten several times by a stray dog when she had gone to buy milk on the morning of August 14. After being bitten she had received three doses of the anti-rabies vaccine till date and was scheduled to get the fourth one on September 10. However, on last Friday evening as her health deteriorated she was taken to the Pathanamthitta General Hospital, but since her condition was serious she was then shifted to Kottayam Medical College.

On Saturday, the health minister had ordered the setting up of a medical board to treat the 12-year-old child.