THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: On Wednesday, several people were attacked by a stray dog in the district, triggering fear among pedestrians and residents. The incident occurred in Neyyattinkara municipality and around 20 people were bitten by a stray dog and some of them were severely injured. The recent report of a rabies death despite administering the vaccine is also sparking concern on the quality of the rabies vaccine available in the state.
“We tried to trace the dog with the help of police and fire force but we couldn’t find it. Several other dogs were also attacked. The incident occurred on Wednesday night. We have decided to vaccinate stray dogs. As per the High Court order, we cannot catch the dogs and we don’t have proper shelter to keep them,” said P K Rajmohan, Neyyatinkara Municipal Chairperson.
In Kerala, an average of 20 rabies deaths are reported every year. According to experts, there needs to be better auditing of the incidents and it’s high time that the civic bodies scientifically interfere in the matter.
Dr T S Anish, assistant professor of community medicine at Government Medical College Thiruvananthapuram, said the reproductive capacity of stray dogs is directly linked to the availability of food waste.
“Sterilising the entire dog population is impossible and effective waste management is one way to curb the population. More than 90% of victims are from economically poor backgrounds,” said Anish. He added that compared to other states, Kerala reports very few rabies death. As per statistics, India contributes to 30% of rabies death globally.
“We need to audit every case and vaccinate the stray dogs to eradicate rabies. Stray dog management is the responsibility of the local bodies. If waste management is effectively done, the issue can be resolved to some extend,” he said.
According to Anish, there needs to be a detailed probe into the death post-vaccination. “We need to find out if there were any flaws while administering the vaccine. It’s a very rare case as rabies is 100% preventable if vaccinated,” he added. As the Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme has been stalled ever since the pandemic outbreak, the stray dog population has gone up exponentially in many parts of the district, especially in the coastal areas.