Uttar Pradesh: Cow dies of dog bite, over 400 who had prasad made of its milk get anti-rabies shot

New Delhi: Around 450 people from 2 villages in Gorakhpur district received anti-rabies shots, after consuming ‘chanamrit’ made from the milk of a cow, suspected of having rabies. The animal reportedly died of rabies, after displaying unusual behaviour on Tuesday evening.

The animal’s death prompted the Health Department to organise the vaccination drive.

According to a report in India Today, the milk from the cow had been supplied to 2 local shops and several houses in 2 villages, namely Dadi Khas and Govindpur.

The cow owner was identified as Nawami Yadav. He said that the animal had appeared unwell for at least 2 days prior to its death. However, according to him, its condition deteriorated on Tuesday and it died later in the evening. He claimed that he had no idea when the stray dog bit his cow.

As the animal’s condition worsened, Yadav reached out to 2 local veterinarians – Dr Bechan Singh and Dr Hardev Yadav. Later he even took it to the Dadi Khas veterinary hospital. The owner said that the doctors suspected that a dog had bitten the cow. After the consultation with the doctors, the cow even started ‘barking’, displaying rabies symptoms and later died.

Though the veterinarians suspected rabies, the Health Department has not yet confirmed whether the cow died of rabies.

Meanwhile as the news of the cow’s death, due to suspected rabies spread, people who had the chanamrit prepared from its milk, during Durga Puja celebrations, panicked. They began visiting the local health centre and started seeking anti-rabies shots.

On Tuesday, around 50 people visited the Community Health Centre (CHC) to take anti-rabies shots. Seeing the huge rush, on Wednesday, a Health Department team from the Centre reached the village and organised an anti-rabies vaccination camp in the village. This was an attempt to address the people’s concerns.

The team of doctors had vaccinated more than 400 people, by Wednesday evening. Th team believed that they had vaccinated 450 people by the end of the day.

Gorakhpur Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Rajesh Kumar, however, tried to dispel the fear of the villagers. He said that the milk used for preparing the prasad was likely boiled and then used for preparing the chanamrit. He said, “There is no need to panic as boiling the milk destroys the virus.”

Kumar however said that the health department decided to carry out the vaccination to dispel the fear in the minds of the village residents.