Post-mortem of Thrissur woman’s death after dog bite reveals it had rabies

The post-mortem examination of the stray dog that allegedly fatally attacked an 84-year-old bedridden woman in Kerala’s Thrissur district reveals it was rabies-infected, said police.

On Friday, the post-mortem examination of the stray dog that had allegedly fatally attacked an 84-year-old woman in Kerala’s Thrissur district revealed that it was rabies-infected, as per the police officials. The elderly woman was killed, and her 60-year-old differently-abled son was grievously injured in a stray dog attack at their home in Vellarakkad near Erumapetty on Thursday. As per the police, the dog was later caught and beaten to death by the locals later that night. The dog’s carcass was examined by veterinarians, after which it was confirmed that the animal was rabies-infected, police said. Police said that apart from the woman and her son, the dog also attacked three people in the vicinity, and three other dogs.

A stray dog’s bite on a woman’s neck led to her death.

The Erumapetty police said that they have now registered a case of unnatural death in connection with the incident on Friday. The post-mortem exam also confirmed that the woman’s death was due to the bite of a stray dog on her neck. Her body was handed over to relatives after the post-mortem, said police and added that her son was discharged from the hospital on Friday morning. Around 6 pm on Thursday, the elderly woman was attacked by the stray dog which managed to enter her tile-roofed single storey-home, former panchayat ward member Abhilash said. The former ward member said, “One of her three sons, who lived nearby, discovered her in an extremely bad condition, where her face was completely disfigured in the stray dog attack. She succumbed to injuries before being ferried to the hospital,” and added that the dog also bit a wiring labourer who has also been hospitalised.

He added, “Stray dog attacks are a regular feature here in Kadangode panchayat. Government officials have done nothing to stop the menace. There are at least 500 dogs on the roads within the panchayat. At least 100 people have been bitten in the last five years.”