A 12-year-old girl battling for life after a stray dog bit her last month died Monday, officials said, with the National Institute of Virology-Pune confirming she had contracted rabies despite being vaccinated.
The girl’s death at the Kottayam Medical College came amid growing doubts on the quality and efficacy of the anti-rabies shots administered at government-run hospitals in Kerala.
Opposition parties have accused the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government of distributing sub-standard anti-rabies jabs in hospitals and also skirting mandatory tests before approval.
The girl, Abhirami, a native of Pathanamthitta, was out to buy milk on August 13 when she was mauled by a stray dog. She was given three doses of the anti-rabies vaccine — the first at Pathanamthitta General Hospital and the next two at Perunad family health centre. The fourth dose was due on September 10.
On Friday, health officials said, the girl’s condition deteriorated following which she was admitted to Government Medical College Hospital, Kottayam, and put on a ventilator. Officials said samples taken to detect rabies and tested by NIV-Pune had confirmed the girl had been infected by the rabies virus.
Abhirami’s death was the 21st in the state so far this year due to rabies. Five of them, including Abhirami, had been vaccinated. The state has reported around 2 lakh dog bite cases this year.
As part of the animal birth control programme, 79,000 dogs have been sterilized in Kerala between 2017 and 2021. However, in recent months, the programme has lost steam.
On Monday, Opposition Leader V D Satheesan alleged the government is “still indifferent”.
“When we raised the issue in the Assembly last week, the health minister tried to trivialise it. People cannot venture out due to stray dog menace. The government has miserably failed to implement the animal birth control programme.”
In the Assembly, Satheesan had alleged the state health department had not followed the prescribed protocol including testing for efficacy of the vaccines before distribution. The Central Drugs Laboratory too had earlier warned the government not to distribute the anti-rabies vaccine without mandatory tests.
Health Minister Veena George sought to defend her department, but Chief Minister Vijayan intervened to say his government will appoint an expert committee to study the quality of the anti-rabies vaccine being distributed in Kerala.
George was of the view that those who had died of rabies even after vaccination had sustained category-3 wounds — single or multiple bites that puncture the skin with the animal’s saliva entering the wound.