A heartbreaking incident has emerged from Thiruvananthapuram, where a seven-year-old girl named Niya Faisal from Pathanapuram tragically lost her life to rabies, despite receiving the full course of the anti-rabies vaccine. Niya was being treated in the emergency department of the Sree Avittom Thirunal (SAT) Hospital when she succumbed to the infection. This marks the third fatal rabies case involving a child in Kerala within the past month, raising serious concerns about the growing threat of stray dog bites and the effectiveness of post-exposure treatment protocols.
The incident occurred on April 8, when Niya was bitten by a stray dog near her home in Kunnikode. Her parents acted swiftly, taking her first to a local health centre and then to the taluk hospital, where her wound was cleaned and the first dose of the vaccine administered. Despite completing all three doses of the vaccine, Niya developed a fever on April 29 and her condition quickly deteriorated. Medical examinations revealed that the bite had damaged a nerve, enabling the rabies virus to travel to her brain through the bloodstream.
Earlier in April, two other children — 13-year-old Bhagyalakshmi from Pathanamthitta and 6-year-old Siya Faris from Malappuram — also died after contracting rabies. State health officials have confirmed that since 2021, 22 individuals in Kerala have died of rabies even after receiving the vaccine.
SAT Hospital Superintendent Dr. S Bindu emphasized that the vaccine alone cannot be held responsible. She explained that the vaccine’s success largely depends on the severity of the bite, whether critical nerves are affected, and the speed at which the virus spreads. This tragic incident underscores the urgent need for more stringent measures to control stray dog populations and ensure timely, effective treatment for bite victims.
