Last week, devotees at a Navratri prayer gathering in a village in Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur were served panchamrit made with cow’s milk. The next day, however, the animal died. A government veterinary doctor suspected it contracted rabies from a possible dog bite, triggering alarm among villagers.

Since then, nearly 500 people who consumed the offering have received anti-rabies vaccines as health officials moved to allay fears.

On Octoober 20, 70 villagers travelled nearly 11 km to the Community Health Centre (CHC) in Gola for their first dose of the vaccine.…