Speaking to Herald, Anthony Rubin, a member of the ‘Mission Rabies’ team, confirmed that 43 people had been bitten by the rabid dog, before it was killed by locals at Birla.
“When we conducted an autopsy, we found that the dog had rabies,” said Rubin.
Confusion prevailed when the ‘Mission Rabies’ team reached the Velsao panchayat on Monday, as the people bitten by the rabid dog and their relatives confronted the NGO team after assuming them to be doctors and criticised them for not making anti-rabies medicine available at the government hospitals.
Anthony then pacified the agitated crowd by stating that they were not doctors, but an NGO who had come to the site to sterilise the dogs free of cost.
Later speaking to Herald, Rubin stated that they had started their ‘Mission Rabies’ activity in the state in April.
“Since then, we have been working in various places in Goa where we sterilise the dogs and administer them with anti-rabies vaccine,” said Rubin.
“If there is any patient who has been bitten by a rabid dog and has not yet received the vaccination, then he can procure the vaccination through our NGO from another state,” said Rubin.
When asked about the time period for the vaccine to be administered when a patient is bitten by a rabid dog, Rubin replied: “The patient should be administered the vaccine within 24 hours as the infection grows at a very fast rate.”
He informed that sterilized dogs would be identifiable with a V-cut on the dog’s ear.
