CHENNAI: After a 49-year-old man who had died of rabies at the Vellore Government Medical College Hospital on Thursday, the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine has reiterated the importance of taking anti-rabies vaccine immediately after dog bites to avoid such deaths.
In a press release, Dr T S Selvavinayagam, Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, said that in the inquiry conducted by the department, it was found that the victim (V Ramesh) had not taken the anti-rabies vaccine after he was bitten by a dog three months ago.
Rabies is not only spread through stray dogs but also through pet dogs, cats, cows, goats and other domestic animals.
The infection can also spread through scratches also caused by the animals, not only through bites, the release stated. According to his family sources, Ramesh was scratched by a stray puppy near his house in Nedumpulli village, Ranipet district, but he ignored the injury.
Forty days after the incident, he developed high fever and was initially taken to the Panapakkam Public Health Centre. He was later referred to the Vellore Government Medical College Hospital, where doctors diagnosed him with rabies, tracking the infection to the stray-dog scratch on his right leg.