On October 31, Dien Ban Town Medical Center, Quang Nam Province, said that there had just been a case of rabies leading to death in the area.
The victim is N.H.Th (born in 2017, in Thanh Quyt 4 block, Dien Thang Trung ward, Dien Ban town).
According to family members and the school, N.H.Th went to Le Tu Nhat Thong Primary School (Thanh Quyt 3 block, Dien Thang Trung) and was bitten on the forearm by a stray dog that entered the school at around 2:00 p.m. on September 13, 2024.
That same morning, a dog bit Mr. Le Tu Tuong (born in 1997) who lives near the school and he was immediately injected with anti-rabies serum and vaccine.
After being bitten by a dog, the teacher at school washed the wound with soap and salt water, then informed the patient's mother and advised her to get vaccinated to prevent the disease. However, the family did not take the child for a rabies vaccination, but instead took him to a traditional healer named Vui (in Le Trach market, Da Nang).
Nearly 20 days later, N.H.Th had symptoms of fever, accompanied by nausea and vomiting after eating many times and was hospitalized at Quang Nam Regional General Hospital (located in Dien Ban district) but the treatment did not work, so he had to be urgently transferred to Da Nang Maternity and Pediatrics Hospital.
Then, N.H.Th died at 11:00 a.m. on October 26, 2024. The test result was positive for rabies virus.
According to Dien Ban Medical Center, the dog that bit N.H.Th was a stray dog that was not chained or muzzled and had bitten at least 2 people. The dog was agitated, ran loose on the street and went missing after biting people.
Since the beginning of the year, Quang Nam province has had 12 rabies outbreaks in 5 districts and towns including Hoi An, Dien Ban, Dong Giang, Hiep Duc, and Que Son. Of these, 3 outbreaks were detected from ownerless dogs carrying the rabies virus into the area.
The number of people bitten by dogs and cats and having to go to medical facilities for preventive treatment also increased dramatically in the first 9 months of 2024, with 5,760 people (more than double compared to the same period in 2023).
There were 13 people who tested positive for rabies virus, 2 people died; 667 cases of dogs and cats showing symptoms of the disease, having rabies attacks or running away after biting people.
Quang Nam Department of Health recommends that rabies is a dangerous infectious disease. Once infected, there is no cure and the mortality rate is 100%.
When bitten, scratched, or licked on an open wound by a dog or cat, all bites and scratches should be thoroughly washed for 15 minutes as soon as possible under running water with Vietnamese sausagey and soap, then disinfected with 45°-70° alcohol or iodine alcohol to reduce the amount of rabies virus at the bite, before going to the nearest medical facility for advice and rabies vaccination. Absolutely do not treat with traditional medicine and folk remedies.
