Another tragic case of rabies death has come to light from Meerut. An 11-year-old boy lost his life to rabies months after he had been bitten by dogs on the day of Rakshabandhan. As per media reports, the boy is a resident of Surya Palace Colony within the Brahmpuri police station area of Meerut. On Rakshabandhan, a dog in his neighborhood bit him, but, the family had failed to give anti-rabies vaccine to the boy.
As reported by Live Hindustan, Dushyant seemingly developed symptoms of rabies, and over the past few days, the child’s health rapidly declined. Late on Sunday night (5th November), the child died in agony at home. The family subsequently conducted the final rites at Brajghat.
Dushyant (11), son of Dhannu, was bitten by a dog in the colony during Rakshabandhan. When the child was bitten by a dog, the family initially showed negligence and didn’t administer him an anti-rabies injection. It wasn’t until Dushyant’s condition began to worsen that they realised their mistake.
As per reports, Meerut city has over one lakh street dogs and the local administration has been negligent in birth control and anti-rabies vaccination of dogs. The data in the district hospital shows that stocks of vaccine shots have been made available, but the administration of doses has not been done at satisfactory levels. Despite government approval for an animal birth control centre, the municipality has not taken steps to establish one in the city, as per a Jagran report.
Around 125 cases of dog bite are reported in the district hospital per day, as per the Jagran report.
Over the last few days, Dushyant’s condition started deteriorating rapidly and the family took him first to the district hospital, and from there they went to Delhi. While he got treatment there his condition did not improve. The distressed family then brought him to AIIMS, but the doctors there also said no.
Afterward, the family brought him to Meerut and started local treatment. Dushyant died at around 2 a.m. on Sunday night. Subsequently, in the morning hours, the family reached Brajghat and performed the last rites.
A similar case was reported earlier, from Ghaziabad. In September, a heart-wrenching video went viral on the internet, stirring emotions. It showed a 14-year-old boy named Shahvej from Ghaziabad, who passed away in his father’s arms one and a half months after being bitten by a dog.
If you can't vaccinate 🐕, then don't domestic one. Yesterday evening a 14-yr-old Shavez, died in his father's arm, as he did not inform his parents about dog bite, which he suffered more than a month ago due to negligence of his neighbour. #Ghaziabad #UttarPradesh pic.twitter.com/45wVyPw5nC
— Arvind Chauhan 💮🛡️ (@Arv_Ind_Chauhan) September 5, 2023
The boy didn’t inform his family about the dog bite and failed to take the anti-rabies vaccine. While the family was in the dark, his health deteriorated and he lost his life on 4th September.
A few days later, on 9th September, over 25 cases of dog bites were reported in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. Two of the victims were reportedly in serious condition. On the same day, the administration issued an advisory on what to be done and not done in dog bite cases.
The menace of street dogs becomes alarming with the fact that India accounts for 36% of global rabies deaths.
