Lab results rule out rabies infection as cause of Kozhikode woman’s death

53-year-old woman was bitten by a dog on July 21 and had taken anti-rabies vaccine as per schedule

The death of a 53-year-old woman last Saturday after a stray dog bite at Perambra in Kozhikode district was not due to rabies infection, lab results have said.

According to Health department sources, the results from the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU) lab at Mannuthy in Thrissur were made available on Tuesday.

Koothali Puthiyedath Chandrika was bitten on the face by a dog on July 21. She had taken the anti-rabies vaccine as per schedule. Now, a medical board involving doctors from the Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode, will be formed to find the exact cause of her death.

It is learnt that Chandrika was given the anti-dermal anti-rabies vaccine at the Perambra Taluk Hospital on the day she suffered the dog bite. Since her injuries were severe, Chandrika was referred to the medical college hospital, from where she was administered equine anti-rabies immunoglobulin. Two more doses were given on July 24 and July 28.

Chandrika was taken to the EMS Cooperative Hospital, Perambra, after she had fever, headache, uneasiness, and symptoms associated with rabies infection such as hydrophobia, on August 7. Later, she was shifted to the medical college hospital. She had been on ventilator support since then.

Though Chandrika was supposed to be given another dose of the vaccine on August 18, her medical condition prevented it. Questions about the efficacy of the vaccine were raised after she died on August 21.