A 22-year-old state-level Kabaddi player from Uttar Pradesh died of Rabies after being bitten by a puppy he rescued weeks ago.
Brijesh Solanki, a gold medallist in state championships and an aspirant for the Pro Kabaddi League, did not take an anti-rabies vaccine as he assumed the wound was caused by practice during the sport.
The symptoms also appeared only days before his death, reported The Times of India.
“Brijesh mistook the pain in his arm for a regular kabaddi injury,” his coach Praveen Kumar told TOI. “The bite seemed minor, and he did not think it was serious, so he did not take the vaccine,” the coach added.
Brijesh got bitten by the puppy after he rescued it from a drain during his practice in the village, his brother Sandeep Kumar told the news agency ANI.
“He did not pay attention to it. We had not heard of a rabies case… The illness after the bite was confirmed in Aligarh Hospital after I reported that he was hesitating in drinking water,” Kumar added.
Brijesh’s brother claimed that they were denied treatment at government hospitals in Khurja, Aligarh, and even Delhi. It was only in Noida that doctors confirmed he was likely infected with rabies.
He died on Saturday while his family was taking him to a faith healer in Mathura.
Brijesh was the youngest of his three siblings, and his brother demanded that one of the family members be provided with a job as Brijesh was the sole breadwinner.
His death prompted health authorities to visit Farana village on Monday. As many as 29 residents were vaccinated, and the health department authorities launched a campaign to raise awareness.
Chief Medical Officer Sunil Kumar Dohre recommended that people should get themselves examined at a government hospital in case of any dog, monkey or other animal bite. The CMO said that Brijesh exhibited suspected symptoms of rabies, such as hydrophobia, and the exact cause would be confirmed after test results.
