Rabies is a third-world problem: it’s treatable as long as you have money and access to the proper medical care. (Ninety-five percent of human deaths are in Asia and Africa, according to the World Health Organization.) In Jiangsu province, a father chose — out of monetary reasons — to not seek treatment after sucking blood out of a dog bite on his son, and is dead as a result.
Shanghai Daily has this sad story:
The victim’s son was taken to the hospital and received rabies vaccine shots after his father, a 41-year-old man surnamed Jiang, tried to remove any infection he may have been exposed to by sucking blood from the bite. The boy was bitten by a stray dog.
The father, a villager of Sitong County, was worried about the cost and didn’t get the same shots. Fellow villagers said he also thought it unlikely that people would be infected by the rabies virus through the mouth and he thought taking shots too troublesome.
China has the second highest mortality rate from rabies in the world, behind India — about 2,000 deaths per year. It’s why authorities, especially in rural villages, occasionally “crack down” on dogs — it’s easier than vaccinating everyone, unfortunately. And so, this story gives us another opportunity to count our blessings. We never have to worry about dying from rabies, since we do not live in a poor rural village. How lucky.
Dad dies of rabies after trying to treat son’s dog bite by sucking blood from wound (Shanghai Daily)
this is what happens when people are not educated in these kinds of things. Rabies is one of the most infectious diseases still in existence this is why even though there has been a vaccine for many decades the virus is still just as prevalent now as 100 years ago. A single drop of infected blood or saliva ingested and you have any extremely high chance of contracting the disease. The disease is 100% fatal even with standard treatment if you dont get vaccinated before the infection takes hold. Currently there are only experimental treatments that have low survival rates and leave all survivors severely brain damaged. It is a horrible way to die, if you watch videos of people infected with rabies they have to by tied down and restrained because they go crazy and try to attack anyone that comes near them
http://m.jsonline.com/more/news/wisconsin/121479779.html
Although Rabies Is Quite Deadly, It Is No Longer A 100% Guarantee Of Death Anymore, Nor Does It Mean, If You Survive You Will Be Brain Dead. I Do Not Want To Imply That The Severity Of This Virus Is Minimal, But I Do Want To Emphasize The Facts Surrounding The Rabies Virus. Education Is Vital In The Fight Against Rabies, Therefore, Misinformation About This Topic Needs To Be Addressed. I Also Want To Point Out That All Treatments For Everything Is Experimental If They Don’t Have A Cure For It Yet. Luckily, There Have Been At Least 2 Major Breakthroughs In Treating Rabies, Which Have Showed Amazing Recoveries.
I’m A Wisconsin State Certified Humane Officer & Rabies Control Officer. I’ve Heard First Hand The Truths & The Myths Behind The Rabies Virus. Check Out The Above Article About Our Very Own Survivor….
Candy, you are disseminating erroneous information. Rabies IS “considered a 100% guarantee” of a fatal outcome if signs (or symptoms) of the disease develop PRIOR to treatment. There should be no sugar coating the risk factors nor the prognosis, despite the fact that worldwide there have been a few miraculous case survivors. Much depends on where the patient was bitten (or how they were infected,) their own age and health and immune system, the aggressiveness of treatment, TIMING, and LUCK. Tragically, some people are infected with rabies without any obvious clues: breathing in airborne virus in bat caves, corneal transplants, undetected bat bites…and sometimes no known source is discovered. It is still medically PRESUMED that the disease is fatal if clinical signs develop, and while great strides have been made, as with AIDS and Ebola, the best professional medical advice is to be REALLY AGGRESSIVE in supportive treatment, know how deadly the disease is expected to be, and GET TREATMENT IMMEDIATELY.
Creating awareness about the disease is critical in controlling deaths due to Rabies.Vaccinating Dogs and keeping stray dog population under control helps in preventing deaths due to Rabies.