Davanagere, 19 Aug

A four-year-old girl who was undergoing treatment for dog bites has died of rabies, a senior official said on Tuesday.

The victim, Khadeera Banu, passed away on Sunday after being treated for the last four months, Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health (IGICH), Bengaluru, director, Dr Sanjay K S, said.

Banu, a resident of Shastri Layout in Davanagere, was attacked by a dog on 27 April while playing outside her house.

She was admitted to a local private hospital with multiple dog bites on her face and body.

According to Dr Sanjay, she was referred to IGICH in May when her condition worsened. "She was admitted in the ICU here and after tests, rabies was confirmed due to the presence of antibodies," said the director.

The girl was discharged for home care after about a month once her condition was stable, he added. She was brought in again in August and was unresponsive, requiring emergency intubation, he added.

According to him, it was a case of dumb rabies, where the disease causes paralysis and not aggression.

Responding to various news reports that the family had spent nearly Rs 8 lakh on treatment, the IGICH director said, in Bengaluru, the family was not charged.

"It is quite possible that they have spent a lot of money in the private hospital in Davanagere," he said.

The girl's father is a street vendor and her mother is a homemaker.