Rabies vaccines 'also cause injuries', time to pause, take informed decision

By Deepika* 
Dog bites and Rabies Vaccines are in the news these days. Every other day there is a news report mentioning the death of a child following a dog bite despite the child being vaccinated against Rabies. The news reports erroneously and intentionally mention that the child died due to “Rabies” and do not question the role of the vaccines.
There are several reports published by Awaken India Movement and Anhonee Rahasya where it is evident that the deaths of children happened despite the vaccine. Awaken India Movement has also documented cases of several cases and types of vaccine injuries caused by the Rabies vaccine!
Questions are also repeatedly raised on the development of Rabies following dog or other animal bites. As per the World Health Organisation, Rabies “is a vaccine-preventable, zoonotic, viral disease affecting the central nervous system. In up to 99% of the human rabies cases, dogs are responsible for virus transmission”. It is also said that once symptoms appear, it is nearly always fatal”. It is also said that fatality results in those cases where the animal is/was rabid.
What one needs to however understand and probe is the fact that there is a high degree of uncertainty in the correlation between animal bites and the subsequent appearance of rabies -- even when the animal is certifiably rabid. Dr Prashanthi Atluri, who believes in nature cure mentions that the symptoms of “clinical” Rabies are very rare and many doctors in their lifetime wouldn’t have encountered a case of “Rabies”. 

She also mentions that most medical professionals close cases as Hydrophobia following animal bites, and they do not necessarily look at all the angles, the history of the patient and simply label the incident as that of Hydrophobia in the absence of proper set of criteria. This observation is further substantiated by this study where an eight-year-old was diagnosed with Rabies but further investigation revealed that it was a case of Conversion Disorder.
There are arguments to suggest that symptoms characteristics of Rabies - that of dehydration which causes foaming, headache, irritability etc – could also be due to other medical conditions.

Dog bites/animal bites are not totally unavoidable and their treatment should be customised based on the depth of the wound

There also have been studies/reports from the past where Rabies outbreak happened without any known history of animal bites. The symptoms were those of Ascending Myeletis.

How to deal with dog bites one may ask!

Dog bites/animal bites are not totally unavoidable and the treatment of the same should be customised based on the depth of the wound, and with an understanding, if possible, of the health status of the animal. If the animal itself was sick, there are chances that the toxins from his body would also potentially harm the person affected by the bite. Natural cure, Ayurveda, Homeopathy all have medicines and solutions of healing a wound and the trauma associated with it. 

However, most doctors recommend multiple doses of the vaccine to be administered even for a scratch from the animal. Media is also constantly fear-mongering about death from animal bites and subtly programming the minds of the fearful parents to get their children vaccinated even when these vaccines may be totally unnecessary.
Also, it has been proved that vaccination does not prevent the disease.

Mass vaccination cannot be the solution

What happened recently in district Kanker in Chattisgarh, a cow was supposed to be bitten by a dog and the entire village who had consumed the prasad made of the cow’s milk are set to be vaccinated with the Rabies vaccine when it is known that there is no laboratory or epidemiological evidence to show that rabies is transmitted via the consumption of milk or milk products. 

This high handedness in decision making with respect to mass vaccination is highly questionable and, in a country, where post vaccine effects (AEFI) are not recorded this becomes a serious issue. At this rate, the next step may be to vaccinate the cows if the authorities decide? Vicious circle, isn’t it?
Authorities are also going overboard with the plan of micro chipping the dogs with an aim to keep track of their vaccination status. What is this going to achieve? This forceful vaccination of animals are going to make them more aggressive, says Dr Prashanti Atluri.
It is time to pause, rethink and take an informed decision, not panic, and intervene and question/stop mass vaccinations which is generally suggested without having a look at the pros and the cons.

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*Digital marketing and content management professional with keen interest in public health policies