It is the second death from rabies in less than two weeks in the state of Oaxaca. The previous case was that of his brother, 7 years old.
An 8-year-old girl died this Saturday from rabies and became the second victim of that disease in the last two weeks in the state of Oaxaca, in southern Mexico. The minor, who was bitten by a bat on December 1, had been in intensive care since the 21st of that month, as was her 7-year-old brother, who died a week after hospitalization.
Meanwhile, a two-year-old sister of both was the only one who survived the attack of the wild animal. She was discharged on the penultimate day of 2022, after undergoing medical treatment with anti-rabies serum.
The state Health Secretariat reported that the 8-year-old girl was admitted to the “Doctor Aurelio Valdivieso” General Hospital with “health complications” and that “she was admitted and evaluated by the infectious disease, pediatrics, and neurology specialties, with severity diagnosis”.
“During her stay at the medical center, a group of multidisciplinary specialists was aware of the patient’s evolution at all times; Nevertheless, the state of health presented irreparable damage and caused the unfortunate death of the minor”, completed the statement from the Secretary of Health of the State of Oaxaca.
Concepción Rocío Arias Cruz, director of that hospital, indicated that the girl, like her two brothers, were bitten by bats on December 1 at their home in the town of Palo de Lima, but the family took 20 days to go to the health center for them to attend to.
On January 2, the general director of epidemiology of the Epidemiological Diagnosis and Reference Institute (INDRE), Gabriel García, revealed at a press conference that, after a brain biopsy performed on the first deceased minor, positive results were obtained for rabies, in its blood-sucking bat V3 variantthat is, it feeds on the blood of mammals.
After the confirmation, the authorities announced that in the municipality of Texmelucan and its surroundings, where the minors were bitten, farm animals were vaccinated against rabies and 1,200 more doses will be applied.
They also urged citizens not to discriminate against people who have recovered or been exposed to the disease because the rabies virus is not transmitted from human to human.
Mexico’s Undersecretary of Health, Hugo López-Gatell, reported last month that a 29-year-old woman, who lives in the northern state of Nayarit, also presented symptoms of rabies after being bitten by a semi-domestic cat.
The symptoms of rabies in humans
According to the Pan American Health Organization, “Rabies is a viral zoonosis that affects all mammals.whether domestic or wild, including humans, and is transmitted through contact with infected saliva through bites or scratches.
In parallel, he specified that “the disease is present on all continents and affects more than 150 countries,” he stressed that “in the world, it is responsible for nearly 60,000 human deaths annually” and indicated that “in the vast majority of human cases, the dog is the source of transmission.
In humans, rabies causes symptoms such as fever, cough, or sore throat, and when the disease worsens can lead to hallucinations, seizures and even death.
After the announcement of the children’s cases, the Mexican Ministry of Health posted a notice on its Twitter account to alert the population about how to detect the symptoms of rabies in dogs and cats.
Likewise, the health authorities of Oaxaca traveled to the community where the cases occurred to evaluate the population and initiate a plan for rabies vaccination in pets.
With information from AP and EFE.
ES