The Health Department has confirmed that the stray dog that went on a biting spree near Mala in Thrissur on Thursday evening was rabid.
A post-mortem conducted on the dog by experts at the Pathology Department of the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University found that the dog was affected by rabies.
The dog was beaten to death by the local residents after it attacked six persons, including four children, at Azhinjithara and Krishnankotta in Poyya panchayat.
The students were returning from school when the dog chased and attacked them.
The dog had mauled five-year-old Ayush and bitten-off his face. Doctors at the Medical College Hospital in Thrissur said that the injured children were administered anti-rabies vaccine and immunoglobulin.
Others who had sought treatment at the Taluk hospital in Kodungalloor have also taken precautionary injections.
The medical college hospital authorities have set up special section for the victims at its child ward.