AHMEDABAD: An inspector posted with the city police control room died due to suspected rabies at a private hospital on Monday. Relatives said the officer had no recent history of an animal bite.Inspector Vanrajsinh Manjariya, 50, was serving as a control room administrator and had been in the force for around 25 years, a police officer said. He is survived by his wife, a daughter who is in the final year of chartered accountancy, and a son in the first year of graduation.
A senior colleague said, “On Friday afternoon, he suddenly suffered high fever followed by hydrophobia and aerophobia, and his condition worsened rapidly. He was rushed to a private hospital near Vaishnodevi Circle where he was treated.”
Despite treatment, his condition deteriorated, leading to multiple organ failure. “During the early hours of Monday, he suffered cardiac arrest and was declared dead by doctors,” another colleague said.Manjariya’s sudden demise left the police department in a shock. “We were traumatised and shocked seeing him lying unconscious on the hospital bed with his hands and legs tied,” a colleague said.Inspector P T Chaudhary recalled, “He himself had two to three pet dogs which he took good care of. Nobody knows how he suffered rabies and succumbed to it. I came to know from some family members that he had fever first, which gradually turned into hydrophobia, and he was primarily diagnosed with rabies.”Chaudhary remembered him as an efficient officer and a fluent communicator. Another colleague, inspector D B Basia, said, “We will remember him as a great soul, an animal lover, and a dear colleague.”Doctors treating Manjariya said samples have been sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune to confirm if it was indeed a case of rabies. “Manjariya had clinical symptoms associated with rabies including hydrophobia (fear of water), aerophobia (fear of fresh air or drafts), and neurological involvement. However, the death can be attributed to rabies only after laboratory confirmation,” said one of the doctors.Police officials added that family members mentioned he had multiple pet dogs, one of which had been missing and later returned. “None of the dogs showed any signs of rabies infection. He also handled dead bodies in the past as part of his duty. The family did mention scratch marks, but no major ones were found. Thus, clear signs were missing in the case,” said an official. “After he developed neurological symptoms, chances of survival were very less,” he added.Understanding Rabies
- The symptoms generally develop within a couple of days of exposure, but sometimes it can also take more than a month
- An animal bite is not always necessary — sometimes exposure to the saliva of the infected animal coming in contact with an open wound can also cause the virus to enter the bloodstream
- One must avoid direct contact with wild animals and not insist on feeding them by hand. Likewise, pets must be vaccinated
- After a suspected bite, the wound must be cleaned with soap and medicines, and medical intervention should be sought as soon as possible
- Those attending to stray dogs regularly or having a job requiring interaction with animals can take pre-emptive shots, but otherwise, not all need such shots. Human-to-human infection is very rare