Kottayam: A 12-year-old girl seriously injured in a stray dog attack last month died on Monday at the Kottayam Medical College in Kerala, officials said. The girl, a native of Ranni in the Pathanamthitta district of Kerala was bitten by a stray dog when she had gone to buy milk on August 14. She was put on ventilator support and died today afternoon, said an official.
Significantly, she had been administered three doses of the anti-rabies vaccine. As per the Health Department officials, "clinical features indicated that the child died due to rabies, but we are awaiting results of the confirmatory test from the National Institute of Virology in Pune". The girl had received three doses of the anti-rabies vaccine till date and was scheduled to get the fourth one on September 10 as per officials.
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On 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, Kerala Health Minister Veena George ordered the setting up of a medical board to treat the 12-year-old child. Chief Minister had told the Assembly last week that the government would set up an expert panel to examine the quality of the anti-rabies vaccine being given in hospitals in Kerala.
Dog menace is turning out to be a new challenge for the Kerala government with the state emerging among the top six states with the maximum number of dog bite cases reported in the country as per reports. In the first seven months of this year, close to one lakh people suffered dog bites in Kerala, which is almost double the number last year, reports said. The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a plea seeking directions to the state government to take preventive measures against the canine terror.
