Infected cow's milk 'prasad' sparks rabies scare in Gorakhpur village
Gorakhpur (UP) (PTI): Fear grips a Gorakhpur village after nearly 150 locals consumed 'panchamrit' prepared from the raw milk of a cow that later tested positive for rabies, officials said on Tuesday.
The episode unfolded in Ramdih village in the Uruwa block, some 40 km from the district headquarters.
Uruwa primary health centre in-charge Dr J P Tiwari said around 160 villagers have so far been administered two doses each of the anti-rabies vaccine, with the next dose scheduled on the seventh day.
"There is no established research that shows rabies can be transmitted to humans through the milk of an infected cow. However, as a precaution, we have advised vaccination," he said.
The milk was used in a ritual performed by villagers Rajeev Gaur and Sonu Vishwakarma.
The cow died on Saturday, displaying symptoms of rabies, and sent the village into panic.
According to villagers, the cow belonged to Dharmendra Gaur and had been bitten by a stray dog nearly three months ago.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Rajesh Jha said the situation remains under watch.
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Rupee falls 9 paise to all-time low of 90.58 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): Rupee depreciated 9 paise to an all-time low of 90.58 against US dollar in early trade on Monday, weighed down by uncertainty over an India-US trade deal and persistent foreign fund outflows.
Forex traders said rupee is trading with a negative bias as investors are in wait and watch mode and awaiting cues from the India-US trade deal front.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 90.53 against the US dollar, then fell further to an all-time intraday low of 90.58 against the greenback, registering a fall of 9 paise over its previous close.
On Friday, the rupee had slipped 17 paise to close at an all-time low of 90.49 against the American currency.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.05 per cent lower at 98.35.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 0.52 per cent at USD 61.44 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex was trading 298.86 points lower at 84,968.80, while the Nifty was down 121.40 points at 25,925.55.
Foreign Institutional Investors sold equities worth Rs 1,114.22 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.
"FPIs continue to be in selling mode in equity and debt while RBI has been selling dollars to fund their long positions," said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.
