Rabies concern, more deaths and vaccine advice

Families who are raising dogs and cats should have their pets vaccinated against rabies. Vaccination of dogs and cats against rabies will greatly reduce the risk of transmission to humans.

Recently, there was another death due to suspected rabies in Dak Lak province, bringing the total number of deaths due to suspected rabies in this locality to 6. In 2023, the Central Highlands provinces were the region with the most deaths due to rabies.

Safpo/Potec vaccination system is vaccinating people against rabies.

Previously, Xuan Loc District Medical Center (Dong Nai) confirmed that the district had just recorded a death case due to a rabid dog bite, Ms. NTNB (44 years old, Xuan Hung commune).

According to information from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) of Dong Nai province, there has just been a death at Dong Nai General Hospital due to rabies. The patient is Ms. NTS, 69 years old, residing in Phu Quy 2 hamlet, La Nga commune, Dinh Quan district.

In the first 7 months of 2024, the country had 65 deaths due to rabies. According to the Department of Preventive Medicine (Ministry of Health), nearly 500,000 people nationwide were bitten by dogs and cats and had to receive preventive treatment by injecting rabies vaccine at medical facilities.

In recent years, rabies cases have been on the rise and have become one of the most common infectious diseases with the highest number of deaths.

In our country, on average, about 70 people die each year from rabies. Although this is a disease that has a vaccine for both humans and animals, it has become a disease that has a major impact on health as well as creating a socio-economic burden.

According to the representative of the Department of Preventive Medicine, the Ministry of Health said the risk of rabies transmission from animals to humans continues due to the low rate of rabies vaccination in the total dog and cat population; limited management of dog and cat populations; and limited public awareness.

Rabies is an extremely dangerous disease when it breaks out, people who have rabies are almost 100% fatal; the only way to save people bitten by rabid dogs or cats is to get a rabies vaccine as soon as possible.

There is currently no specific treatment for rabies, but it is completely preventable. To proactively prevent rabies, people need to take the following measures: People who raise dogs and cats need to be fully vaccinated against rabies and get annual booster shots according to veterinary recommendations; dogs must be chained, locked up, and muzzled when going out.

Do not play with or tease dogs or cats. When bitten by a dog or cat, wash the wound immediately under running water with soap for 15 minutes; if soap is not available, rinse the wound with plain water. Afterwards, the wound should be cleaned with 70% alcohol or iodine alcohol; avoid bruising the wound and do not cover it tightly.

Go to a medical facility promptly for examination, consultation and rabies vaccination and anti-rabies serum; absolutely do not self-treat or seek treatment from a traditional healer.

Communicate and instruct children on how to prevent dog and cat bites and to immediately notify their parents or relatives after being bitten by a dog or cat.

Rabies can be prevented by vaccination. The rabies vaccine does not harm the person receiving the vaccine. The rabies vaccine is made from inactivated rabies virus and therefore cannot cause disease, memory loss, or other neurological problems.

The Ministry of Health recommends that people should not hesitate or hesitate to get vaccinated against rabies when bitten by a dog or animal. Go immediately to the nearest medical facility for timely advice and treatment.

Doctor Nguyen Tuan Hai, Safpo/Potec Vaccination System said, if people have the conditions, they can get vaccinated against rabies before exposure.

Accordingly, if you get a preventive injection, you only need 3 injections, which is completely flexible in terms of time. If you are unfortunately bitten by a dog or cat, the injection schedule will be simpler, you only need 2 injections of vaccine without having to inject anti-rabies serum even if the wound is severe, the bite site is close to the central nervous system or where many nerves are concentrated.

Meanwhile, if you do not get a rabies vaccination before being bitten by a dog or cat, you need to get 5 injections within a strict timeframe within a month, especially in cases of severe wounds or vital locations, you need to get a serum injection, which greatly affects your psychology and daily routine, as well as causing more pain and more side effects.

Especially in remote areas, rabies serum and vaccine are not always available. There are times when they are scarce, causing people who have been bitten by animals to be very confused and scared.

For children, pre-exposure rabies vaccination is especially important because children often do not pay attention to injuries caused by animals while playing with pets and may forget to inform their parents (except in severe cases).

Furthermore, children have short bodies, so when bitten by dogs, they are often bitten on the head, face, and neck more than adults, which is also the reason why the rabies virus moves faster to the central nervous system and causes disease more quickly.

In addition, due to concerns that rabies vaccines have side effects, affect the nervous system, and cause memory loss, Dr. Hai said that old generation vaccines have this problem.

However, rabies vaccines are now produced using modern technology and do not contain nerve cells, so they are harmless and do not affect the health or memory of users.

The new generation rabies vaccine uses fractional centrifugation technique, ensuring low levels of impurities and complying with World Health Organization (WHO) quality standards (less than 10 nanograms per dose).

Some vaccines do not use the preservative thimerosal (mercury), so the new generation of rabies vaccines also minimizes local side effects such as swelling, pain, fever, etc. compared to the old generation of vaccines that have been discontinued.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/benh-dai-dang-lo-ngai-them-truong-hop-tu-vong-va-loi-khuyen-vac-xin-d227761.html