Toddler Dies of Suspected Rabies in Palnadu Village
Health authorities said there had been no recent reports of a dog attack on people in the village.
Vijayawada:A two-year-old boy has died of suspected rabies, based on clinical diagnosis at Boggaram village in Ipur mandal of Palnadu district, in the early hours of September 23.
According to the Palnadu district health authorities, the boy was playing near his home when a stray dog licked his face on September 2. He developed hydrophobia and was taken by his parents to a hospital in Narasaraopeta on the evening of September 22.
After initial treatment, he was shifted to the government hospital in Guntur for better medical care that night. He died after developing encephalitis in the early hours of September 23.
Palnadu district medical officer Dr Ratna Manmohan said, “Based on clinical diagnosis, the boy died of suspected rabies. The boy’s parents told the doctor about a dog licking their son earlier. We found no mark of any dog bite or injury on the boy’s body.”
The health officials conducted a door-to-door survey covering around 130 people in the village soon after the boy’s death to check for any suspected cases of rabies. No such case had been found in the two days since the survey.
Health authorities said there had been no recent reports of a dog attack on people in the village.
Officials said there was no time to conduct further tests on the boy’s blood as samples had to be sent to the IPM in Pune for analysis. The boy’s condition was already serious when he was admitted to hospital and the focus was on providing medical treatment.