Bitten woman dies despite rabies vaccine

The rabies vaccines administered to a 32-year-old woman in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, who died after being infected through a dog bite, were up to standard, according to local health authorities on Thursday.

Long Xiuling, who was bitten by a stray dog on her left ankle on June 20, received medical treatment the same day, including the vaccine and antibiotics, at Xi'an Central Hospital, a major hospital in the city, the Xi'an Health and Family Planning Commission said.

The doctor in the hospital's emergency department who treated Long also advised her to get four more doses of vaccine at intervals until July 18. Long received three vaccinations at the hospital, the commission said.