5 Recent Incidents Of Deaths Caused By Rabies Across India

There's been an increasing rise in deaths caused by rabies across the country. Therefore, there's a dire need for not just increased caution around the disease but also the urgency of awareness around sterilisation and vaccination. 

Rabies is a deadly viral infection that attacks the central nervous system. It is transmitted through the bite of an infected animal, most commonly a dog. Rabies is fatal if not treated immediately after exposure.

Recent Incidents Of Rabies Deaths Across India

8-Year-Old Girl Dies Of Rabbies As Family Uses 'Home Remedies'

An eight-year-old girl named Poonam died in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, 15 days later after getting bitten by a stray dog while she was playing in her village. The little girl did not inform about the incident to anyone except her mother, who instead of immediately rushing her to get the anti-rabies vaccine (ARV) did some 'home remedies' on her daughter.

The girl was only rushed to the hospital after 15 days when she developed the symptoms, and as her condition worsened, she was rushed to the city hospital in Agra but she succumbed to death on their way. 

2-Year-Old Bites 40 People Before Dying Of Rabies

A two-year-old girl in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, was bitten by a stray dog who died days after biting her outside her maternal uncle's house as she was playing in the village. As the girl started showing symptoms of dog bite after returning home, initially her symptoms were ignored by her family but later was taken to a charlatan (a person who holds medical knowledge but is not a doctor) of the village to get treated instead of a doctor. 

After a few days of these remedies, the girl started biting and scratching people and before succumbing to death, weeks later to her infection, she allegedly bit more than 40 people which created chaos amongst the villagers after her death. 

14-Year-Old Boy In Ghaziabad Died A Month And Half Later Of Dog Bite

A 14-year-old boy named Mohd. Shahvaz in Ghaziabad died of rabies a month and a half later after getting bitten by one of the dogs of a neighbour in Ghaziabad. The woman named Sunita owned 6-7 dogs who were allegedly not vaccinated and even fed street dogs. According to the deceased boy's grandfather, her dogs had a history of attacking people and when approached she and her family would act aggressively. 

The 8th standard boy was bitten by one of her dogs a month and a half ago and hid the incident from the family out of fear. It was on September 1 when he stopped taking meals and by September 3 he started drooling, getting anxious and breathless that prompted her father to rush him to the hospital after which the boy informed the family about the incident. 

The family rushed to 6 different hospitals in 2 days after a video on September 7 of the boy crying in the arms of his father in an ambulance went viral and was shot 4 hours before the boy succumbed to death. 

Ghaziabad Rabies Case

Shahvaz 14-year-old from Ghaziabad dies of rabies a month after a dog bite, Om Shanti Shahvaz A teenage boy from Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad died due to rabies on Monday. The boy named Shahvaz was bitten by a neighbour’s dog over a month ago pic.twitter.com/qBeFNiQcZa

— Sumit (@SumitHansd) September 7, 2023

60-Year-Old Elderly Man Died After Pet Dog Bite In Thrissur

In July, an elderly man named Puthukkattil Unnikrishnan (60) who was a native of Kaipamangalam in Thrissur, Kerala died of rabies infection after getting bitten by his pet dog three months ago. The dog was adopted from the streets by the elderly man and was not administered the proper vaccinations against rabies infection. 

After suffering the dog bite, Krishnan did not consult a doctor and after a few days, the pet dog died. following which Krishnan started showing symptoms like difficulty in drinking water. As Krishnan was taken to the hospital, upon medical examination it was discovered that Krishnan suffered from rabies infection from a dog bite three months ago after which Krishnan succumbed to death.

Dog Lover Who Fed Strays Died Of Rabies After Dog Nails Scratches

In June, a 49-year-old woman named Stephin V Pereir in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala died suffering from the scratches of the dogs' nails she used to feed. The woman was looking after her brother in a hospital in Thiruvananthapuram when she started showing symptoms. 

The woman was soon admitted and when enquired, she informed about the incident of getting a scratch on her hand by one of the street dogs she was feeding. The woman was soon provided with the treatment but succumbed to death soon after. 

Suggested Reading: Safety On Streets Against The Rabid Stray Needs Healthy Discussion