A 30-year-old mother died in Kozhikode Medical College on Sunday due to rabies, after being bitten by a stray dog.
Rincy, from Padinjarathara of Wayanad, was bitten by a stray dog on May 18, while she was walking on the road along with her 18-month-old son Jithin.
Rincy’s husband Binoy told The Times of India that when the stray dog attacked her, she protected her son by laying down on the road and covering him with her hands and body. However, the dog attacked Rincy and she was badly bitten on her forehead and lips.
Though Rincy took vaccination for the rabies immediately after being bitten, she showed symptoms of the illness last Wednesday onwards and finally succumbed on Friday.
Since Wednesday, Rincy was having difficulty to swallow, recurring thirst, high fever and vomiting.
Though Jithin was not injured in the attack, Rincy’s relatives were worried as she was breastfeeding him.
As per the report, Rincy had taken three doses of vaccination from Wayanad district hospital and was supposed to take the last dose on June 15.
Along with Rincy, there was another girl Anusree, 16, daughter of their neighbour, who was also brutally attacked by the dog on her hands and legs. She had already taken vaccination when she sustained the injuries.
As per information from the Kozhikode Medical College, one of the officials told The News Minute that it happened not because of failure of the vaccination. He said that there are rare cases in which patients can succumb to rabies even after taking the vaccination.
“If they are bitten on the head or face, it is easy for the virus to reach the brain. In most of the cases where people died of rabies, they were bitten on the face. In such cases, even vaccination may not be effective,” he said.
He recalled that three years ago, a woman from Thrissur died similarly after she was bitten on her lips while returning from office.
“Though she was given vaccination immediately after the attack, she died within a month,” the official said.