A two-year-old boy, identified as Sundaram, was attacked by a pack of stray dogs in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh. The dogs mauled his face and chewed parts of his hand. Local residents intervened and rescued the child, after which he received emergency care including 10 stitches on his face. Doctors say further reconstructive surgery is likely needed to restore facial structure.
The attack occurred in the Sahjanwa area near Dumri intersection, in the jurisdiction of Sahjanwa police station. The child had wandered outside the home early in the morning around 8am and was playing near the house when a group of stray dogs suddenly attacked him. His mother raised an alarm; neighbors chased the dogs away using sticks and forced them off.
The child was bleeding and in distress when locals brought him to the Pali Tharrapar Community Health Centre (CHC). Medical staff there began first aid care and administered anti-rabies injection as a precaution. He was then referred to the district hospital for further management.
Later in the night, the child was admitted to a private hospital in the cantonment area, where surgery was performed to suture facial wounds (10 stitches) and address damage to the hand. Surgeons have indicated that additional operations will likely be necessary to repair deeper tissue defects and restore facial symmetry.
Animal bites, especially dog bites pose a high risk of bacterial infection due to oral flora in animals. Prompt and thorough cleansing (irrigation) of the wound is essential to reduce infection risk. Debridement (removal of devitalized tissue) helps prevent abscess formation or necrosis.
Primary closure (suturing) of bite wounds may be considered if the wound is clean and not high risk, but in facial wounds surgeons often balance the benefits of cosmetic outcomes vs infection risk.
Standard medical protocol mandates prompt initiation of rabies post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), which includes:
Wound washing and cleansing (soap and running water, preferably for 15 minutes).
Administration of rabies vaccine (multiple doses over days) and rabies immunoglobulin (RIG) for wounds of category III exposure (i.e. transdermal bites or deep wounds) if the patient has not been previously immunized.
Tetanus prophylaxis if needed, based on vaccination history, because animal bites are considered tetanus-prone wounds.
It is critical that PEP is not delayed, even while awaiting further medical or diagnostic evaluations.
Children are particularly vulnerable in dog bite cases due to the risk of deeper injury (to bones, nerves, ducts) and cosmetic or functional impact from facial wounds. The face has rich vascular supply, which helps with healing, but also increases bleeding risk.
For reconstructive surgery, operations may be required, including plastic repair of soft tissue, grafts, or flap work. The goal is to preserve function (e.g. mouth movement, eyelid closure) while minimizing visible scarring.
Given the dual risk of infection and rabies, care must be multidisciplinary, trauma surgeons, infectious disease specialists, and possibly neurology or plastic surgery teams may be involved in follow-up care.
Incidents of stray dog attacks remain a public health concern in many urban and semi-urban settings in India. There have been other reported stray-dog biting sprees in Gorakhpur, including an incident where a single dog attacked 17 people in one hour, emphasizing the scale of the stray dog challenge.
Local authorities have responded by implementing animal birth control (ABC) programs, vaccination drives, and creation of centers for stray dog care. In Gorakhpur, a new ABC and dog care centre has been established to sterilize and vaccinate stray dogs — capacity plans include handling nearly a thousand dogs in prior drives.
(Rh/Eth/TL/MSM)