Goemkarponn desk
PANAJI: Goa announced its first rabies-related death in over five years in September of last year, seven months after the state celebrated being declared “rabies free” earlier in the year.
According to health officials, this was the first case of the deadly disease in the state.
According to Dr. Prashant Suryavanshi, the state epidemiologist, the victim is from North Goa.
In February of last year, Goa’s Directorate of Health Services (DHS) became the first Indian state to declare itself “rabies free,” having eradicated the disease from humans for more than five years.
There was almost little chance of people contracting rabies after being bitten by dogs thanks to the DHS’s regular rabies vaccination campaigns.
But in September of last year, following a dog bite, a resident of North Goa tested positive for rabies for the first time in the previous five years.
Dr. Suryavanshi continued, “The female victim passed away while receiving treatment in the hospital.”
