About a month before being hospitalized, L.T.D (14 years old, residing in Son La) was bitten on the left index finger by a stray dog, causing a wound about 12 cm long, bleeding profusely.
This dog bit many people in the residential area at the same time, but the other victims all proactively went for rabies vaccination. Regarding D, although he was taken to a medical facility for wound antiseptic treatment and advised by a doctor to get rabies vaccination, his family did not get vaccinated as recommended.
Two days before being hospitalized, D began to show abnormal symptoms such as fever, muscle pain in the left arm area, restlessness, irritability. On the day of hospitalization, the condition became severe quickly with typical symptoms of rabies such as fear of water, fear of wind, fear of light and sound, increased phlegm secretion, and stiff muscles throughout the body. The patient was taken to a lower-level hospital for examination and quickly transferred to the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases.
In the Department of Pediatrics, the patient was admitted to the hospital in a very serious condition: Increased sputum secretion, fear of water, fear of wind, appearance of laryngeal seizures, stiffness all over the body, Glasgow score only 10–11 points, showing seriously reduced consciousness. Doctors had to perform sedative procedures, place endotracheal tubes and put the patient on a ventilator. Notably, the wound caused by dog bites was completely healed, with no signs of infection. However, with typical clinical manifestations, the patient was diagnosed with suspected rabies.
On the afternoon of December 31, 2025, PCR test results from saliva and cerebrospinal fluid samples both tested positive for the rabies virus.
According to Dr. Dang Thi Thuy, Head of the Department of Pediatrics, the patient was admitted to the hospital with all typical clinical signs of rabies. It is extremely regrettable that the family missed the only opportunity to prevent the disease by not getting rabies vaccinated immediately after being bitten by a dog, despite being fully advised by the doctor.
Dr. Thuy emphasized that the rabies incubation period can last for many weeks, even many months. However, when the disease has started, 100% of cases lead to death, and medicine currently does not have specific treatments. People bitten, scratched, bleeding, or lick open wounds by dogs, cats, or animals suspected of rabies – especially animals of unknown origin – need to go to preventive health facilities immediately to get rabies vaccinated as soon as possible. In cases of severe biting, multiple biting, or biting in dangerous areas such as the head, face, and neck, patients need to be vaccinated with rabies serum in combination with rabies vaccine.
Rabies is completely preventable. Getting vaccinated against rabies immediately after being bitten by an animal is the only way to protect your life. Delays or subjectivity mean losing the opportunity to live for yourself and your loved ones," Dr. Thuy warned.
Immediately after being bitten by an animal, it is necessary to wash the wound thoroughly under running water with soap, disinfect properly and go to a rabies prevention and vaccination facility as soon as possible, do not wait to monitor animals, do not believe in folk remedies.
