Hospital officials dismissed speculation over a possible defective vaccine batch
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: A five-year-old boy from Ambajogai in Beed district died of rabies on Monday, nearly three weeks after being bitten by stray dogs on the face and neck on Sept 6. Officials at the hospital where the boy received the anti-rabies treatment said his last shot was due on Oct 5. The child was brought back on Sept 25 with fever and cough, according to hospital authorities. Around 15 family members of the patient, as well as healthcare workers exposed to the rabies case, have received doses from the same batch,” Mane said.
The boy, Farhan Mohammad Qureshi, was administered an anti-rabies serum (ARS) and three anti-rabies vaccines (ARV) on an OPD basis, officials at Swami Ramanand Teerth Rural Govt Medical College and Hospital (Ambajogai) told TOI . “During evaluation, paediatricians noticed neck stiffness and subsequent examination confirmed rabies symptoms,” hospital dean Dr Shankar Dhapte said. Dr Uday Mohite, dean of the Latur hospital, said the boy was admitted in the early hours of Monday with classic signs of rabies, including hydrophobia, aerophobia and extreme irritability. Doctors said the case involved a category III rabies exposure, the most severe classification, as the dog bites were on the child’s face and back. Young children also have comparatively lower immunity than adults,” Dr Yogesh Mane, who heads the immunisation section at Ambajogai medical college, said.
The child was referred to Govt Medical College and Hospital in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, which has an isolation facility for rabies patients. The family, however, shifted him to Vilasrao Deshmukh Govt Medical College and Hospital in Latur. “The face was involved, making it a category III exposure. In facial bite cases, the virus can reach the brain much faster. Hospital officials dismissed speculation over a possible defective vaccine batch. “The same vaccine batch has been used for about a month without any adverse issues.