2 men, namely Prabhakar and Tadepalli Raju, in Rajahmundry succumbed to rabies more than a month after they were bitten by dogs, allegedly due to the inavailability of the vaccine for rabies.
Tadepalli Raju's wife informed the media that her husband was bitten by a dog a month ago, and that he went to a government hospital only to return unvaccinated. Stating that they did not have any rabies vaccine with them, those at the hospital had Raju visiting the hospital for 10 consecutive days.
Giving up hope on the government hospital, the victim of the dog bite sought medical help from a Registered Medical Practitioner, who administered the tetanus (TT) vaccine. The wounds on his body were cured soon after the injection of the TT vaccine, and Raju assumed that the dog's poison was also removed - a grave mistake.
The higher authorities concerned, however, have denied any shortage in their stock of rabies vaccine.
The death of these 2 men comes close behind the
death of an 11-year-old named Anusha, also from Rajahmundry, who succumed to a dog bite a week ago. The Human Rights Commission had stepped in, and demanded that the authorities concerned submit a report on the death of the child.