Kerala: Dogs bite, just no respite
Hospital staff say that a stray dog had attacked the children after barging into the house of one of them.
Thiruvananthapuram: Three children hailing from Pozhiyoor, aged between two-and-a- half years to four years, were bitten by a dog on their face, and are being administered anti-rabies vaccine at General Hospital from Friday onwards. A doctor at the casualty ward said that the wounds were deep. Loose suture was used on two children, as open wounds take more time to heal. According to hospital RMO, the children were not admitted. Their families could not be contacted. Hospital staff say that a stray dog had attacked the children after barging into the house of one of them.
The face and limbs have many nerve endings, and the rate of the spread of rabies infection will be higher, according to Dr S. Kalesh, Assistant Professor (plastic surgery), Government Medical College Hospital. The fear of permanent disfigurement for dog bite victims is now a thing of the past as surgeons carry out delayed suturing of the wound site after taking precautions to prevent further viral infiltration. Surgeons used to leave dog bite wounds open to prevent the needle pricks during suturing from introducing more viruses or bacteria into the body.
This was the most feasible option for doctors to prevent aggravating the infection load, which could be life-threatening. However, the current practice is to administer immunoglobulin and vaccine to the dog bite victims soon after they report to the clinic even if chances of rabies infection are minimal. Possibly the next day, after ensuring victims are on antibiotic cover, surgeons suture wounds. For victims, especially those who have suffered bites on their faces, the disfigurement can be a lifelong embarrassment.
7, including 2 children, bit in Kayamkulam
Seven including two children were injured by stray dog bites in Kayamkulam here on Saturday. The Kayamkulam police said that the stray dog assault was reported in Eruva near Kayamkulam by noon. Four-year-old Baby Parvathy and nine-year-old Greeshma suffered bites while they were playing near their house.
After hearing the cries of the children, natives Maniyan, Gopalakrishnan and Saraswathy reached the spot but the dog attacked them too. The dog escaped from the area and bit two others also. Local people started a search for the dogs but were unable to locate them, police said. The injured have been admitted to the Kayamkulam taluk hospital.