On October 3, news from the Department of Health of Binh Thuan province said that there had just been one more death suspected to be due to rabies.
The female patient (born in 1996, residing in Thuan Nam town, Ham Thuan Nam district) was scratched on the finger by a dog at home in early August, causing a scratch but no bleeding.
After that, the patient did not treat the wound, did not get a rabies vaccine, but went to a traditional medicine practitioner and took traditional medicine for 2 days.
On September 26, the patient began to show symptoms of fatigue, without fever. On September 27, the patient had symptoms of chills and fever. The family bought medicine for the patient to take, but it did not help.
On September 28, the patient's family took him to Binh Thuan General Hospital, where he showed signs of fear of water and wind. The hospital transferred the patient to Ho Chi Minh City Hospital for Tropical Diseases. The doctor diagnosed rabies, with a severe prognosis, and the test results were positive for the rabies virus. The family asked to take the patient home and he died later.
Through epidemiological investigation, 2 people in the family were bitten by dogs, but neither of them had received rabies vaccination after being bitten. After discovering the dog showed signs of aggression, the family beat the dog to death and buried it.
Since the beginning of 2024, Binh Thuan has had 9 deaths suspected of being caused by rabies.
