7-Year-Old Dies Of Rabies Despite Vaccine In Kerala, 3rd Case In Month

A seven-year-old girl who contracted rabies despite receiving vaccination after the dog bite, died at a state-run hospital on Monday, family sources said.

The victim, Niya Faisal, a native of Kunnicode in the neighbouring Kollam district, had been on ventilator support at the Sree Avittom Thirunal (SAT) Hospital here for a few days after she tested positive for rabies infection.

This is the third rabies-infection-related child death in the past month in the state, despite receiving post-bite rabies vaccinations following stray dog attacks.

Niya's tragic death happened just days after a six-year-old girl in Malappuram district, Ziya Faris, died of rabies despite having received vaccination.

A 13-year-old girl, hailing from Pullad in Pathanamthitta, also succumbed to the infection recently even after receiving prescribed vaccine doses, sources said.

While shifting her body from the hospital, Niya's wailing mother said on Monday morning that no other child should suffer such a tragedy.

"A large pile of waste is dumped near our home. We repeatedly asked people not to do this, but no one listened to our pleas. Stray dogs, attracted by the waste, mauled my daughter in front of me," she told reporters here.

Stray dogs were seen freely entering even SAT hospital premises and where is the safety for the children coming there for treatment, she asked.

The relatives didn't take the girl's body to her home in adherence with quarantine protocols and buried it in her native village.

SAT hospital authorities later told reporters here that vaccines cannot be blamed in such cases.

S Bindhu, Superintendent, SAT Hospital, said there are chances for the virus to infect the brain before the vaccine antibody becomes effective, depending on the position and intensity of the dog bite, and it might have happened in Niya's case also.

"The girl suffered deep wounds, especially in those places where the nerve density is high. If she suffered a bite on the nerves, the virus would have reached the brain before the vaccine became effective," another senior doctor said.

Multiple bites and deep wounds, especially in areas like the face, neck and hands, where the nerve density is high, increase the chances of infection before the vaccination becomes effective, they explained.

While replying to a question, the doctors said in a public health system, it was not right to say that vaccines are ineffective.

The vaccines are administered as per standard guidelines, and concerned persons in the health sector are trained to give it in accordance with them, they added.

The girl's family and doctors at the hospital confirmed on Friday that she contracted the virus despite having received anti-rabies vaccination doses at the correct intervals.

According to Niya's mother, the girl was bitten by a stray dog on her elbow on April 8 while she was standing near her home.

Soon after she was bitten, the family members thoroughly washed her wounds and took her to the nearby family health centre, where she was administered an anti-rabies vaccine.

The girl was then taken to the Punalur Taluk Hospital, where she received additional medications and vaccine doses.

However, a few days ago, the girl suddenly developed severe pain at the wound site and was down with fever, prompting her parents to rush her back to the hospital.

Health Minister Veena George said recently that vaccines are administered in Kerala state hospitals only after ensuring their quality. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)