An 8-year-old girl died this Saturday of rabies and became the second victim of that disease over the past two weeks in the state of Oaxaca in southern Mexico. The minor, bitten by a bat on December 1, had been in intensive care since the 21st of that month, as was her 7-year-old brother, who died a week after hospitalization.
Meanwhile, a two-year-old sister of both was the only survivor of the attack of the wild animal. He was discharged on the penultimate day of 2022, after undergoing medical treatment with anti-rabies serum.
The Ministry of Health reported that the 8-year-old girl was hospitalized at the “Doctor Aurelio Valdivieso” Polyclinic with “health complications” and that “she was hospitalized and evaluated by the infectious specialties, pediatrics and neurology, with severity diagnosis”.
“During her stay at the medical center, a group of multidisciplinary specialists was always aware of the patient’s evolution; However, the state of health presented irreparable damage and caused the unfortunate death of the minor,” completed the statement by the Secretary of Health of the State of Oaxaca.
Concepción Rocío Arias Cruz, director of that hospital, indicated that the girl, like her two brothers, was bitten by bats on December 1 in their home in the city of Palo de Lima, but it took the family 20 days to go to the health centre for them to take care.
On January 2, the director general of epidemiology of the Institute of Diagnosis and Epidemiological Reference (INDRE), Gabriel García, revealed in a press conference that, after a brain biopsy performed on the first deceased minor, positive results were obtained for the anger, in his bloodsucking bat variant V3that is, it feeds on the blood of mammals.
After the confirmation, the authorities announced that in and around the municipality of Texmelucan, where the minors were bitten, farm animals were vaccinated against rabies and another 1,200 doses will be applied.
They also urged citizens not to discriminate against people who have recovered or been exposed to the disease because the rabies virus is not transmitted from human to human.
Mexico’s Undersecretary of Health Hugo López-Gatell last month said a 29-year-old woman living in the northern state of Nayarit also presented symptoms of rabies after being bitten by a semi-domesticated cat.
Symptoms of rabies in humans
According to the Pan American Health Organization, “Rabies is a viral zoonosis that affects all mammals.both domestic and wild, including humans, and is transmitted through contact with infected saliva through bites or scratches.
At the same time, he specified that “the disease is present on all continents and affects more than 150 countries”, underlined that “in the world it is responsible for almost 60,000 human deaths a year” and indicated that “in the vast majority of cases, the dog is the source of the transmission.
In humans, rabies causes symptoms such as fever, cough or sore throat and when the disease worsens it can lead to hallucinations, seizures and even death.
Following the announcement of the children’s cases, the Mexican Ministry of Health posted a notice on its Twitter account to warn the population about how to detect rabies symptoms in dogs and cats.
Similarly, health authorities in Oaxaca have visited the community where the cases occurred to assess the population and launch a plan for rabies vaccination in companion animals.
With information from AP and EFE.
IS
Source: Clarin
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.