A 13-year-old boy from Kancheepuram district died of rabies on January 22, 2026, nearly four months after being bitten by a dog. According to district health officials, the child did not receive anti-rabies vaccination or immunoglobulin after the bite and was initially treated by a traditional healer. The diagnosis was confirmed after the child developed neurological symptoms and was referred to tertiary care hospitals.
The dog bite occurred in September 2025 while the child was playing near his home in Chinnivakkam village. As the boy’s father was at work at the time of the incident, his grandmother reportedly took him to a non-medical practitioner rather than a medical facility. According to local accounts, the practitioner cleaned the bite wounds and applied an onion-based dressing, but no vaccination or standard medical care was provided. Health authorities later confirmed that the stray dog involved had bitten multiple people in the area.
In January 2026, the child developed fever, difficulty swallowing, and muscle stiffness. He was admitted to government hospitals and later referred to Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, where clinicians diagnosed rabies based on clinical presentation. The child died shortly after symptom onset, consistent with the known course of the disease.
Kancheepuram Deputy Director of the Health Department, T. R. Senthil, told The New Indian Express that the incident was uncommon and could have been prevented.
Rabies is entirely preventable if treatment is initiated on time. There are 29 PHCs in Kancheepuram district, all equipped to treat dog-bite cases. We handle around 1,000 to 1,500 such cases every month.
Kancheepuram Deputy Director, Health Department
He further stated that the health department would examine the premises of the traditional practitioner linked to the case and intensify public awareness efforts on the importance of seeking prompt medical care after animal bites.
Following the child’s death, health officials vaccinated close contacts as a precaution and conducted field surveillance. District authorities reported that multiple primary health centres in the area are equipped to manage animal bite cases and provide free rabies vaccination. Awareness activities were also initiated to encourage early reporting of dog bites.
India continues to report a high burden of rabies-related deaths, largely due to delayed or incomplete post-exposure care. National and global health agencies consistently emphasize that rabies deaths are preventable when evidence-based protocols are followed.1,3
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, National Guidelines for Rabies Prophylaxis (New Delhi: MoHFW, 2019), https://main.mohfw.gov.in/sites/default/files/National%20Guidelines%20for%20Rabies%20Prophylaxis%202019.pdf.
World Health Organization, “Rabies,” Fact Sheet (Geneva: WHO, 2023), https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/rabies.
National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Rabies Epidemiology and Prevention in India (New Delhi: NCDC, 2022), https://ncdc.mohfw.gov.in/index1.php?lang=1&level=1&sublinkid=81&lid=86.
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