Mother of one dies after bite from dog with rabies

A woman died after being bitten by a rabid dog in Chesegem village in Chepalungu Wednesday.

Selina Kenduiywo said her daughter was attacked by the stray dog in their homestead. Ms Kenduiywo took her daughter to Chebostuiyet Dispensary. After the 20-year-old mother of one was discharged, her mother took her to Ndanai Hospital in Sotik but they were referred to Longisa Hospital.

“The dog died after biting my daughter and we learned that it died of rabies. Before long, my daughter started falling sick,” Kenduiywo added. The woman fears that her daughter was wrongly diagnosed at the local hospital despite the family making it known to doctors that she had been bitten by a rabid dog.

“We are not happy with the way my daughter was handled and we want an explanation why despite letting the doctors know that she had been bitten by a dog, she was not given serious attention,” Kenduiywo complained.

Call for vaccination

Siongiroi MCA Leonard Kirui said every year, families lose members to dog bites, adding that the trend should be reversed through vaccination.

“It is very sad to be losing so many lives to rabies when the county assembly has been approving millions of shillings for the purchase of vaccines for cows and dogs in the region every financial year,” Mr Kirui said.

“We are urging the county government to investigate this matter thoroughly. They must come out in the open and explain to the public the circumstances under which the young woman died,” he added.

Kirui challenged doctors in the region to refer patients to higher level and more recognised hospitals instead of keeping them when they could not offer proper treatment.

Last year, the Public Health Department sent a disease-surveillance team to Chesumei constituency in Nandi County following reports of a rabies outbreak.