‘Kerala now dog’s own country’: Minor girl becomes 21st victim of rabies infection

Amid the news of a minor girl dying from a stray dog bite in Kerala, advocate VK Biju on Monday told the Supreme Court, "Kerala has become dog’s own country from God’s own country."

Advocate VK Biju approached the Supreme Court on Monday and made an urgent mention of the rising cases in Kerala related to stray dog bites and said, “Kerala has become dog’s own country from God’s own country.” This comes amidst the death of a 12-year-old girl who succumbed to her injuries from a stray dog bite.

The girl, who was a native of Perunad village in Kerala’s Pathanamthitta district, was bitten by a stray dog on August 14. Officials said she was bitten in several places, including her arms, legs and eyes.

After her condition deteriorated from the dog bite, she was shifted to Kottayam medical college where she was put on life support. She died on Monday afternoon.

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According to health department officials, the girl died despite taking three doses of anti-rabies vaccine. They added that while they are still waiting for results from the National Institute of Virology in Pune, her clinical features indicated that she died due to rabies.

Kerala Health Minister Veena George said that a total of 20 people lost their lives due to rabies infection in Kerala so far this year. The girl will become the 21st victim if her report confirms the infection.

Meanwhile, following advocate VK Biju’s urgent mention, the Supreme Court agreed to list on September 9 the cases related to the stray dog menace in Kerala.