Ghaziabad: Boy dies of ‘suspected rabies’ a month after stray dog attack

Health officials said they cannot confirm whether the boy had the disease as a day after he died on July 19, his family cremated the body

A three-year-old boy in Ghaziabad died nearly a month after he was bitten by a community dog near his house in Badiyala near Masuri, district health department officials said on Wednesday, adding that they are treating the case as that of suspected rabies.

The boy’s uncle Shivam Kumar said the three-year-old was bitten by a dog on June 25, and was later taken to a private hospital, where he was administered doses of anti-rabies vaccine (ARV). (Representational image)

However, officials said they cannot confirm whether the boy had the disease as a day after he died on July 19, his family cremated the body.

Giving details of the case, the boy’s uncle Shivam Kumar said the three-year-old was bitten by a dog on June 25, and was later taken to a private hospital, where he was administered doses of anti-rabies vaccine (ARV).

“On July 19, he started to stammer and had great difficulty in swallowing. He was not able to speak properly and was frothing from his mouth. We rushed him to different hospitals in Ghaziabad, Meerut and Delhi, where doctors suspected rabies infection and none admitted him. He succumbed around 11pm the same day,” Kumar said.

The treatment documents of the hospital where the boy was initially administered the ARV stated that he suffered a grade 3, severe dog-bite around 7pm on June 25. The first dose was administered at the hospital, while the second and third doses were administered at the Bhojpur health centre in Ghaziabad.

“The documents reveal that boy’s wound had started bleeding, he was frothing from his mouth, and was fearful of water. He also suffered spasms in his throat… We are treating it as a case of suspected rabies, since the rabies infection could not be confirmed. It is confirmed through autopsy and the autopsy did not take place,” said district surveillance officer Dr Rakesh Gupta.