Urgently extinguish the outbreak of rabies in Soc Son

Hanoi: Urgently extinguish the outbreak of rabies in Soc Son

On July 31, the Hanoi Department of Health said that the Hanoi Center for Disease Control (CDC Hanoi) is monitoring and handling rabies outbreaks in Hien Ninh and Minh Phu communes (Soc Son district).

Previously, according to a report from the Soc Son District Medical Center, rabies outbreaks in dogs were recorded in Lam Truong village (Minh Phu commune) and Ninh Mon village (Hien Ninh commune).

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Accordingly, the rabid animal is a dog of unknown origin, a domestic dog weighing about 15kg. From about 9:30 to 11:00 on July 25, the dog appeared in Lam Truong village. Here, the rabid dog bit and came into contact with 13 dogs and cats of 4 households and bit 1 person.

From about 11am to 12pm the same day, the rabid dog moved to Viet Phu Thanh Chuong tourist area (Ninh Mon village) and bit 2 people, including 1 visitor and 1 security guard.

Staff at Viet Phu Thanh Chuong beat the dog to death and reported it to the Hien Ninh commune veterinary staff. The Hien Ninh commune veterinary staff sent the sample to the Central Veterinary Diagnosis Center for testing and the result was positive for rabies virus.

Thus, at the above rabies outbreak, 3 cases of people exposed to rabid dogs were recorded. These cases have had their wounds treated, and were advised to receive vaccination and anti-rabies serum according to regulations.

Faced with that situation, the People's Committee of Soc Son district held a meeting of the Steering Committee for Disease Prevention in the communes and notified the people to verify the origin of the rabid dog. At the same time, it required people to keep their dogs and cats chained and not to let them roam free.

The People's Committee of Soc Son district also requested the People's Committees of communes to arrange patrol teams to destroy stray dogs. At the same time, destroy the rabid dog and 13 dogs and cats that had come into contact with the rabid dog according to the instructions of the veterinary agency.

The Hanoi CDC delegation requested the Soc Son District Health Center to organize propaganda and raise people's awareness in proactively preventing rabies. People who are bitten or scratched by dogs or cats should go to medical facilities for advice and preventive treatment of rabies.

The working group also requested Minh Phu Commune Health Station and Hien Ninh Commune Health Station to closely monitor the rabies outbreak situation in the area, promptly detect cases of suspected rabid animal bites. At the same time, monitor and remind exposed people to get vaccinated fully and on schedule.

According to doctors, rabies is an acute infectious disease caused by the rabies virus. The disease is transmitted mainly through bites, scratches, or licks from rabid animals on damaged skin.

The disease usually increases during the hot season from May to August every year. Clinical manifestations of rabies in humans are fear of water, fear of wind, convulsions, paralysis and death. Once rabies has occurred, the mortality rate is almost 100% (for both humans and animals).

Rabies in humans can be prevented and treated with vaccines and anti-rabies serum. Vaccination against rabies in both humans and animals (mainly dogs) is an effective measure to prevent and control rabies.

Previously, the Department of Preventive Medicine, Ministry of Health, said that statistics in 17 provinces and cities recorded 29 deaths due to rabies in the first 4 months of 2024, 2 times higher than the same period in 2023.

According to Dr. Hoang Minh Duc, Director of the Department of Preventive Medicine, 100% of rabies deaths are due to not getting vaccinated against rabies, getting vaccinated late or not as prescribed.

At the same time, up to 43.8% of people subjectively think that their dog bit them when they were healthy, so they did not get vaccinated against rabies.

From 2023 to present, the rabies situation in Vietnam has been complicated; from the beginning of 2024, the number of cases continued to increase dramatically with 27 deaths due to rabies, an increase of 16 cases compared to the same period last year (~170%).

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 when bitten by a rabid dog or cat 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 the wound.

Go to a medical facility promptly for examination, consultation and injection of rabies vaccine 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 with a vaccine. The rabies vaccine does not harm the person who receives the vaccine. The rabies vaccine is made from inactivated rabies virus, so it cannot cause disease, memory loss, or other neurological problems.

The Ministry of Health recommends that people do 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 that people, if possible, 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 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 vaccinated against rabies before being bitten by a dog or cat, you need to get 5 injections within a strict time limit of one month, especially in cases of severe wounds or vital locations, you need to get serum injections, which greatly affects your psychology and daily routine, as well as causing more pain and 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 notify their parents (except in severe cases).

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

In addition, due to concerns that the rabies vaccine has side effects, affects the nervous system, and causes memory loss, Dr. Chinh said that the old generation of vaccines also 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/ha-noi-khan-truong-dap-tat-o-benh-dai-phat-sinh-tai-soc-son-d221291.html