In just the past two weeks – during the intense heat wave, the Vaccination Center, National Hospital for Tropical Diseases, has received more than 51 cases coming for serum and rabies vaccination after being bitten or scratched by dogs or cats.
The case of Mr. N.V.B, 67 years old, residing in Soc Son, Hanoi, is a typical example of subjective psychology when thinking that dogs raised in the house from a young age will not be at risk of getting sick. 2 weeks ago, seeing his dog rushing to bite the calf, he ran to stop it and was bitten on the palm, creating a wound about 1cm long. Because he thought the dog was only temporarily ferocious, he did not get vaccinated. Exactly 2 weeks later, the dog suddenly stopped eating and died. At this time, the whole family panicked and took Mr. B to the Central Tropical Diseases Hospital for examination. According to doctors, a delay of up to 2 weeks is an extremely dangerous time for a rabies exposure case.
In another case, patient N.T. A (23 years old, in Vinh Thanh, Hanoi). Mr. A. just bought a 2-month-old kitten to raise and had not had time to take it for vaccination. While feeding, he was bitten on the hand by the cat. Only 3 days later, the cat suddenly died for unknown reasons. Thinking the cat died of a common disease, Mr. A still did not go for vaccination immediately. It was not until 3 days later, urged by relatives, that he rushed to the hospital to get serum and vaccine.
BSCKII Nguyen Nguyen Huyen, Director of the Center for Epidemic Prevention and Control, Central Tropical Diseases Hospital warned that rabies is an extremely dangerous infectious disease caused by a virus, with a mortality rate of nearly 100% when the disease has developed. However, the disease can be completely prevented if people bitten by animals are treated properly and vaccinated in time.
When people are bitten by dogs, cats or animals suspected of rabies, they need to quickly wash the wound with soap under continuous running water for at least 15 minutes, then disinfect and go to a medical facility to be consulted for vaccination, rabies serum if necessary. At the same time, it is necessary to manage pets tightly, fully vaccinate dogs and cats to limit the risk of rabies spreading in the community.
