450 villagers in UP rush to take anti-rabies shots after consuming 'charnamrit'

In what can be termed as a bizarre incident, 450 villagers in Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur district received rabies shots after consuming charanamrit served during Durga Puja. Interestingly, the charanamrit or prasadam was made from the milk of a cow which later died of a dog bite.

The cow died on Tuesday and was suspected of having rabies. The incident prompted the Health Department to organise a vaccination drive as a precautionary measure. However, rabies in the animal has not been officially confirmed.

The cows death and the news it was bitten by a stary dog caused concern in Dadi Khas and neighbouring Govindpur village, where the cow's milk had reportedly been supplied to households and two local shops.

The cow owner Nawami Yadav, said he was unaware of when a stray dog bit the cow, reported India Today. He further said that for the preceding one or two days the cow was not keeping well, including making barking sounds, but its condition deteriorated significantly on Tuesday.

After the cow died of rabies-like-symptoms, anxiety spread among devotees whose milk had been used for the Durga Puja charanamrit or prasadam.

Residents approach community health centre

Some residents immediately approached the local community health centre (CHC) and sought help.

On Wednesday, October 21, a Health Department team led by pharmacist Siddharth Singh and several health workers from the centre reached the village and set up a vaccination camp to attend to more residents.

“The cow has died, and people were afraid. Therefore, 450 people were administered anti-rabies vaccines as a precautionary measure,” Gorakhpur Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Rajesh Kumar was quoted as saying by India Today.