INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
CHENNAI: A stray dog spread panic in the Royapuram area on Tuesday evening, biting 29 people in less than an hour on busy GA Road before it
was beaten to death by locals who suspect it may have been rabid.Witnesses said the dog was lying on the road in the largely commercial area
in north Chennai, when it suddenly attacked pedestrians, biting their ankles and feet.Some of the victims said the dog did not let go even
when they tried to shake it off.The Greater Chennai Corporation has sent the dead dog to the Madras Veterinary College for postmortem
"The dog could be rabies infected as it has shown unprovoked aggression
We will get the test report in two days," said GCC veterinary officer Dr Kamal Hussain.Of those attacked, 24 had category three bites, which
means deep cuts and bleeding with possible saliva transfer from dog to human
Ten of the injured were school children
Some senior citizens fell and hurt their heads too
All the injured were admitted overnight to the nearby Government Stanley Medical College and Hospital
Dr S Chandrasekhar, head of department, medicine, Stanley GH, said "We washed the lower limbs of all victims and gave them anti-rabies
immunoglobulin medication to prevent infection from spreading to the brain
Following this, we gave an anti-rabies vaccine for which they have to come again for four more doses." Following the incident, the Greater
Chennai Corporation rounded up 32 dogs from the area, including six puppies, and has kept them under observation for rabies.M
Balagangatharathilagar, veterinary medicine specialist and TANUVAS professor, said victims of unprovoked dog bites should get anti-rabies
immunoglobulin serum and vaccine doses within 12 hours
"Street dogs are usually in packs and only chase vehicles in groups, if they find smell of other dogs' on the wheels or have previous
If they are alone and attack somebody unprovoked the possibility of them being rabies positive is higher," he said.The professor said rabies
tests can only be done on dead dogs through hippocampus fluorescent antibody tests where a part of the brain is removed to check for the
"In living dogs, a cornea smear test or saliva test can be done, but this is not always decisive as viral load may be less here," he added.
