Udaipur : In a bizarre incident, a family of 13 members undertook anti-rabies vaccine shots , fearing they could be susceptible to the fatal virus after consuming milk of their cow which was bitten by a rabid dog. The family came to know about the contagion when the rabies symptom showed up on the cow and it became critically ill. In apprehension, the entire family rushed to the hospital to get vaccinated themselves.
The hospital incharge Dr Kishanlal Dhanak informed that on Friday, Devendra Singh, a resident of Tirardi came to the hospital alongwith 12 family members and told that all of them had consumed cow milk on Thursday night. However, they came to know later that the cow had developed rabies symptoms after being bitten by a rabid dog. Singh said they had consumed boiled milk which would have negated the virus effect but they did not wanted to take any health risk.
The doctor gave Anti Rabies Vaccine and Tetanus injections to them. Dhanak said all of the members are fine and healthy and since this being an usual case, it has been reported to the CMHO, RCHO and Principal of the medical college. “Rabies is a viral disease that is spread most often from the bite of a rabid animal to another animal or to a human. As of now, there are no studies on rabies spread to human beings through infected cow’s milk.
The rabies virus is heat sensitive and as per the WHO recommendations, it is safe if someone has consumed pasteurized or boiled milk of the inflicted animal. There is no need for vaccinations too in such a case, but since the family has received the ARV shots, there is nothing to worry” public health expert Dr Ashok Aditya told .