Doctor explains science behind how virus behaves in dogs
Monitoring the dog
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Anti-rabies vaccination
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Maharashtra’s Kalyan youth dies
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A single dog bite can trigger weeks of fear, frantic online searches and sleepless nights. In India, where rabies remains a public health concern, anxiety often spreads faster than facts. After the tragic death of a young bank employee in Maharashtra’s Kalyan, a doctor has stepped forward to explain a crucial medical principle that many people do not know, hoping clarity and science can prevent panic from spiralling into something far more devastating.Dr Priyam Bordoloi took to X to highlight what he described as an established medical fact: if a dog remains alive and healthy 10 days after biting someone, it did not have rabies at the time of that bite.The science behind this is rooted in how the virus behaves in dogs. Once the rabies virus reaches a dog’s saliva and the animal becomes infectious, symptoms appear quickly. From that stage, the disease progresses rapidly and typically leads to death within about 10 days. This means that if a dog can be identified, observed and found to be normal after that period, that specific exposure could not have transmitted rabies.Dr Bordoloi clarified that this applies especially in cases where the dog is known or traceable, such as a pet, a neighbour’s dog or a local animal that can be monitored. Observation, he stressed, is a recognised public health tool and medically relevant in assessing risk.At the same time, he underlined that this information is not a substitute for treatment. Post-exposure vaccination must be started immediately as per medical guidelines. Watching the dog for 10 days is an additional layer of assessment, not an alternative to vaccines.Rabies has a long incubation period in humans, sometimes stretching months and, in rare instances, up to a year. This delay often fuels prolonged anxiety, even after vaccination has begun. According to the doctor, people who have taken the anti-rabies vaccine properly and whose bitten dog remains healthy after 10 days can be reassured that they are safe from that particular exposure.He also reiterated a stark reality: once rabies symptoms appear, the disease is almost always fatal. That is why prevention through timely vaccination remains the only effective protection.The clarification comes in the wake of the death of 30-year-old Ayas Vishwanath Amin from Kalyan East in Maharashtra. Amin, who worked at the bank for eight years, had reportedly been bitten by a stray dog a few days earlier and had begun the anti-rabies vaccination process. According to news agency PTI, his family said he developed extreme anxiety and began attributing symptoms to rabies infection. A suicide note recovered at the scene reportedly cited fear of the virus as the reason for his decision.