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A man receives a rabies vaccine. |
Specifically, the number of rabies-related human deaths in the first 9 months of 2023 was 64. Medical experts warned people against subjectiveness about rabies but vaccination immediately after being bitten by a pet to promptly protect their health and life.
Head of the Ho Chi Minh City-based Children's Hospital 2’s Department of Intensive Care for Infection and Covid-19 Do Chau Viet said that the department has just received and treated two pediatric patients with rabies in critical condition who were transferred from Gia Lai and Dak Nong provinces. An 8-year-old and a 13-year-old children were hospitalized when they suffered encephalitis, severe brain damage, and life-threatening conditions.
Their relatives said that the children had not previously told their family that they had been bitten by a dog. After the family discovered that the children had a fever, headaches, and wounds and there were unusually dead dogs in the area near the house, they suspected that the children had been bitten by dogs and had rabies; hence, relatives took the two children to medical clinics for treatment. Currently, the two children escaped dangerous conditions and their health is stable.
Doctor Do Chau Viet said that rabies is an acute encephalomyelitis of humans and animals caused by rabies virus, which is usually transmitted by an animal bite. According to medical experts, the symptoms of rabies may be similar to the flu, including weakness or discomfort, fever, or headache. There also may be discomfort, prickling, or an itching sensation at the site of the bite. These symptoms may last for days. Symptoms then progress to cerebral dysfunction, anxiety, confusion, and agitation. Moreover, patients with rabies often show signs of insomnia, and increased fear of light, noise and wind.
Doctor Truong Huu Khanh, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Association of Infectious Diseases, said that in recent times, rabies has tended to increase in Vietnam due to people's low awareness of this disease. Some people even self-medicated and applied leaves as a preventive measure against rabies after being scratched or bitten by dogs, cats, or pets.
Besides, the lax management of pets especially dogs and cats and the low rate of rabies vaccination in dogs are culprits of increased cases of rabies.
According to Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Anh Tuan from Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City, the chances of rabies infecting a vaccinated dog are low. However, a rabies vaccination does not guarantee 100 percent protection; so people who are bitten by dogs, cats, or pets are still at risk of contracting rabies. When a person is bitten by a dog, cat or animal, their wounds should be washed and flushed immediately with soap and water for 10–15 minutes. If soap is not available, flush with water alone. This is the most effective first-aid treatment against rabies.
According to the World Health Organization’s statistics, about 60,000 people die from rabies every year on average around the world, and over 10 million people require preventive treatment with rabies vaccines.
Each year nearly 100 Vietnamese people die from rabies, and more than 400,000 people who are bitten by dogs and cats have to be vaccinated. In the first 9 months of 2023, the country recorded 64 deaths due to rabies, an increase of 21 cases compared to the same period in 2022 in 26 provinces and cities. The Northern region had 25 cases of rabies while the South reported 15 cases, the Central region had 9 cases, and the Central Highlands had 15 cases. The Central Highlands Province of Gia Lai is the locality with the highest number of deaths due to rabies in the country (11 deaths ) due to cat and dog bites without rabies vaccination.
