Ukhrul woman dies of rabies, AHTA notifies dog owners
Source: Chronicle News Service / R Lester Makang

Ukhrul, August 17 2021: In a tragic incident, a 33-year-old woman died of rabies in her house in Ukhrul town on Monday.

Sources said that Kaping Floriah, a resident of Tangrei, succumbed around 1 pm on Monday after battling the ailment for four days.

She developed rabies symptoms on Friday last, about three months after she was bitten by a stray dog.

According to the sources, she was first rushed to Leishiphung Christian Hospital in Ukhrul with symptoms of breathlessness and disorientation on Friday.

However, as the doctors there could not diagnose her condition, she was moved to Ukhrul District Hospital (UDH).

Suspecting rabies, doctors at UDH further referred her to RIMS where the cause of her condition was confirmed as rabies, the sources said.

She was discharged home from RIMS on Saturday as it was too late to save her.

Since then, she had been on oxygen at her home and breathed her last on Monday afternoon.

Floriah reportedly got bitten on May 2 last, when a stray dog entered her residential campus and got into a fight with her dog aggressively.

She tried to break up the fight and shooed the stray animal away.

While she was trying to keep her dog on a chain, the stray animal came back and bit her on her hands.

However, she did not seek medical aid as the bite was thought to be minor, the source said.

Meanwhile, in view of the prevalence of ribles, All Hunphun Tang Association (AHTA), a conglomeration of 27 localities in the town, has notified all dog owners to get their animals vaccinated against the viral disease.

Notifying that all dog owners must inoculate their animals with anti-rabies, the association further directed all dog owners to chain up their animals and not let them outside their houses.

"If any dog owners act against the directive, they shall be doing so at their own risk," it warned.

AHTA asked all its constituent localities to make the announcement in their respective jurisdictions.

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