THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With anxiety mounting in the state over the recent deaths of some people due to rabies infection despite vaccination, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday said the government would set up an expert panel to examine the quality of the anti-rabies vaccine being given in hospitals in the state.
While Health Minister Veena George was replying to an opposition notice for an adjournment motion over the issue of dog bite deaths, Vijayan intervened and informed the state Assembly that the committee would be soon set up by the Health department.
She said a multi-disciplinary panel would submit its study report in two weeks over the recent rabies infection deaths that had happened in the state.
Then, the Chief Minister said the recent deaths due to rabies infection have triggered a huge concern among people and a panel could be deployed to study the vaccines also.
"Considering the anxiety of the people, it will be good to examine the vaccines by setting up an expert panel. The Health Department will take the necessary steps in this regard. arrangements will be made by the department to set up the committee and conduct the examination," he said.
Meanwhile, George said a total of 20 people have died due to rabies infection in Kerala so far this year.
Of them, 15 persons had not taken the prescribed anti-rabies vaccine and one had accepted the jab only partially.
However, four among the deceased had received the vaccine as prescribed by the health experts, she said.
Noting that the major concern of the common people was why the death had happened despite vaccination, the Health minister said as per the medical reports all of them had suffered dog bites in the critical body parts like face, fingers and so on which are more prone to the disease spread.
It was learnt that the virus infection had affected their brain even before the vaccine started to act in their body, she said.
She also said the anti-rabies vaccines, bought through the Kerala Medical Corporation Limited (KMCL), have the quality standard certification of the Centre.
Admitting that the dog bite cases are on the rise in the state, she said if the total number of reported dog bites was over 1.35 lakh in 2017, it has shot to 1,83,931 so far this year.
P K Basheer (IUML), who sought the notice for the motion, said the situation in the state was grave due to the increasing stray dog menace and children, women and the elderly are largely suffering from dog bites.
Leader of Opposition in the Assembly V D Satheesan said instances of dog bites have increased at an alarming rate in the state in the past two years.
He also raised concerns about the timely distribution of the vaccines and their quality standards.
The Congress leader also urged the government to take the dog menace issue seriously and take urgent steps to address it.