Rabies scare: 75 strays vaccinated

Speaking to DT Next, Dr Sokkalingam, veterinary officer of MSPCA, said that the drive was carried out after one of the stray dogs under their care died of rabies. 

“One of the stray dogs brought to us was really sick and was treated under quarantine for five days. When the dog died on Wednesday, the post-mortem report from Madras Veterinary College revealed that the cause of death was rabies. Since it was a rabid dog, we didn’t know how many other dogs had been affected. So we conducted a drive on Thursday, where 75 street dogs were administered the anti-rabies vaccine.”

The camp took place at Aynavaram from 9 am to 11 am. Such camps are held regularly, said Dr Sokkalingam, adding that this one was held immediately since the situation required preventive action. “If a dog has rabies, it won’t be still but keep moving. We didn’t want to take a chance and decided to ensure all the dogs in the locality are vaccinated to bring down the risk to public,” he added.