Rabies Warning After 10 year Old Dies From Cat Bite

Everybody has heard a lot about rabies but probably do not know how dangerous it is. The disease can be fatal, and if there is not the correct treatment, the patient will die.

Recently a 10 year old girl from Svay Rieng Province was bitten by an infected cat and had injections from a local clinic. However her condition deteriorated and she was sent to Phnom Penh’s Cambodia Pasteur Clinic.

According to a Facebook account of Nav Panha, a tuk-tuk driver “It’s really depressing. A 10-year-old girl from Svay Rieng province has been bitten by a cat and has been treated with a cure, a doctor said.

“Then, at 5:11 pm on February 13, 2019, Nav Panha stated, “It is very sad that the girls died last night !! You have a cat or a dog, if it bites (go) to an emergency doctor, do not worry, it is not heavy, but it (maybe) rabid. Please share”

Dr Arnaud Tarantola, director at the Institut Pasteur du Cambodge, has confirmed that the Lyssavirus is carried in animal saliva (dogs, cats or other mammals) and will infect people mostly through biting. Those who were bitten by animals do not all get the virus, but those who do contract it must seek urgent medical treatment or they will die.

When Lyssavirus “infects” it enters the nerve and infiltrates into nerve cells, and continues to the brain cells that control particular control over heart activity or breathing. After a few days to a few months (depending on the location of the bite and the severity of the injury, most cases are 3 to 5 weeks), the person infected will have a brain inflammation.

The doctor advised that when bitten by an animal, seek vaccination, as soon as possible, within 24 to 48 hours (2 days).

First, general wound healing: Wash with water and soap treated with antibiotics.

Then, visit a medical professional for serum treatments for bacterial infections. These need to be administered several times. The vaccination should be done as soon as possible in the first few days after biting, before the first symptoms appear. If symptoms do start, then it means an almost certain death. https://kbn.news/archives/116432