Siliguri, July 24: A 10-year-old boy, who was allegedly turned away from a government hospital short on anti-rabies vaccine, died of suspected hydrophobia this evening. Hydrophobia or the fear of water (read difficulty to swallow liquids) is one of the symptoms of rabies, a near fatal disease caused by the bite of animals affected with the virus. Mamoni Chakraborty said her son Ranjan and four other children of Bakali in Mainaguri block of the district were bitten by a mad dog a month ago. "We took him to Jalpaiguri District Hospital where doctors said he should be given anti-rabies vaccine. Those manning the vaccine distribution counter where we showed our BPL cards told us to come back after a couple of days as they had run out of stock,' said Mamoni, who works as a maid. The families of the other children who were bitten by the same dog had bought the vaccine from medical shops at the market price, Mamoni said. Chandan, the boy's father who is a casual worker in Bhutan, came home when he heard about the dog bite. "I went to the hospital at least twice to get the vaccine for my son but every time, I was told that there was no supply,' Chandan said. The parents then took Ranjan to a kabiraj (ayurveda practitioner) at Kadobari on the outskirts of Jalpaiguri town. "He examined my son and said he would treat him, provided we did not consult any allopathic doctor or give him vaccine during the time,' the father said. Ranjan's condition deteriorating in the past few days. "He was running a high temperature and saliva was dripping from his mouth. Then, yesterday, for the first time we noticed that he did not want to drink water,' Chandan said. "We took him to the kabiraj who examined him and gave some medicines.' The boy, however, died this afternoon after a fit of convulsion. Moloy Ghosh, the chief medical officer of health of Jalpaiguri, said although sometimes there were shortages, the supply of anti-rabies vaccines had been steady for the past few weeks. "If they had gone to the hospital during that time, chances are, they may have got the vaccine. But I will have to know the exact date of their visits to the hospital to say whether the stock was there or not.' Neither Mamoni nor Chandan could furnish the exacts dates of their hospital visits or, when their son was bitten by the dog. "Besides, vaccines are available in block hospitals too. If the boy was a resident of Mainaguri block, the family could have approached the hospital there,' the CMOH said. Doctors here said the family members of patients affected with rabies should also vaccinate themselves. "The virus may spread through open cuts or scratches. We always advise preventive measures because once the disease sets in, almost nothing can be done,' said a doctor.