Mad Dog..Grrrr...

Hillbilly

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Jan 1, 2002
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Only way is to get bitten: rats, dogs, cats, any animal. AND then not report it right away and get the shots!!! All public hospitals have rabies kits and the vaccine that can be administered. This is endemic here...the doctors know this.

That is the stupidity. You can't wash the bacteria away, it won't go away. AS soon as clinical symptoms appear you are dead!

HB
 

bob saunders

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Jan 1, 2002
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Only way is to get bitten: rats, dogs, cats, any animal. AND then not report it right away and get the shots!!! All public hospitals have rabies kits and the vaccine that can be administered. This is endemic here...the doctors know this.

That is the stupidity. You can't wash the bacteria away, it won't go away. AS soon as clinical symptoms appear you are dead!

HB

The guy went the clinic at the resort 3 times. Perhaps the fault lies with the doctors. We don't know what he told the doctors.
 

Hillbilly

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Jan 1, 2002
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Then the incompetence is more wide-spread:

"I got this bite and it hurts"!

What bit you?

"I think it was a (name animal)"

Where is the (animal)?

"I don't know."

Sir, you need to take a series of shots in case the animal was rabid.

"Naw, It's just a scratch!"

Well, it's your funeral! (And it will be!)

Unless of course the resort did not have a real doctor on staff, or they had a foreign doctor with no experience in the tropics...
It seems to me that a major lawsuit is in the works against the incompetent work at the clinic. No kidding! Sorry for the guy, but in this case a lack of knowledge caused his death.

HB
 

AnnaC

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Jan 2, 2002
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He's not dead yet but the article states that those who do survive usually suffer severe neurological damage.
 

Hillbilly

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Jan 1, 2002
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This is not an epidemic. Come on DonP...this is a case where it could have been a bat, yes. But it is also a case of carelessness on many planes. The poor guy that will die a horrible death where only massive doses of morphine or heavier drugs will take the pain away; the health persons that saw him here.

Look, there is a 10 day window between infection and clinical symptoms. Once the symptoms appear you are dead. Just a matter of how long you suffer. Read the literature on rabies. It is one mean sucker. Worse than AIDS since there is no cure at all. So this guy dwaddled around, nothing was done. Maybe they gave him a tetanus shot,,,,which would do nothing.

Sad, sad...

HB
 

expatsooner

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Aug 7, 2004
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Rabies is a problem in every developing country in the world. When a country doesn't have the resources to care for its own people programs like those for rabies vaccinations are VERY low on the list, assuming they even make the list. This is something that every traveler to any of these destinations needs to be aware of when interacting with the local animals. By the way one of the most common carriers among domesticated animals is cattle.
Good luck to this man and his family - this is a very painful disease with an almost 100% mortality rate. Survival rate once symptoms appear would be less than 1% I believe.
 

imfromda305

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Dec 9, 2011
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Help me to understand what's going on.. once you've been bitten isn't the first thing you're thinking about: RABBIES!!!!

I mean come on now, what am I missing!?!
 

Hillbilly

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Jan 1, 2002
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Yes!!! Bob that is exactly what happened to a young child of a friend of mine years ago. He went to Public Health with the kitten, they killed it, checked it and found it had rabies! The child was given the series of shots and she is fine!

That is exactly what happened.

THis case is a case of negligence on the poor victim and the medical personnel that saw him.


HB
 

EllaTO

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Mar 16, 2012
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Thanks for that one, even though I don't know anyone with pets.. but still!
Well, If you didn't know this simple fact, maybe the poor guy who is most likely going to die a most hideous death didn't either... I always shudder when I see tourists trying to pat the street dogs or feral cats...

Rabies is a hideous agonizing and yet preventable way to die and regardless of who you may think is at fault, no one deserves it.

Ella
 

Hillbilly

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Jan 1, 2002
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I agree: Nobody "deserves" to die from rabies.

Someone above mentioned 99%....I think it might be closer to 99.999% in reality...


HB
 

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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one: rats (and mice, and small rodents in general) are not known to spread rabies.
two: time from infection to presenting symptoms can take months and depends on the localisation of the point of entry (wound). rabies travels via neurologica system and does so very slowly.
three: in rare cases (just few of them reported in the world) a patient who did develope symptoms can be still saved (milwaukee protol) but the chances are very slim.