The well-known rabies vaccine failed to save the life of a 6-year-old boy in Tunisia who was bitten by a stray dog on his face. The deadly virus took a toll on the boy's body even after doctors administered the vaccine promptly and treatment was initiated immediately.
According to Dr. Amesh Adalja, a member of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and a doctor at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, "It's very rare to have the rabies post-exposure regimen fail, but there are cases where it does fail."
Rabies is a virus carried mostly by dogs, cats and even bats. It is a deadly disease that can be fatal if left untreated. However, the vaccine promises good prognosis if it was administered immediately. Yet in this case, it was not able to save the child's life.
Reports said that it is possible that the doctors were not able to clean the wound of the dog's saliva completely. However, it is also possible that in some people, the vaccine does not work.
According to the World Health Organization, rabies is a zoonotic disease wherein it can be transmitted from animals to humans and it is endemic in many countries. It is a vaccine preventable disease but due to vaccination costs in most countries, many pet animals are not yet vaccinated especially in developing countries.
Ten of thousands of people are dying from rabies each year. That's why WHO released guidelines on the proper treatment of dog bites to prevent fatal complications to emerge. Immediate wound cleansing and immunization within a few hours after contact with a probable rabid animal can prevent the onset of rabies and death.
Health care workers who attended on the boy the day he was bitten by the dog followed the guidelines by WHO. They immediately cleaned the wounds and administered a rabies immunoglobulin that is proven to be effective in fighting the rabies virus.
However, after 17 days, the child was again brought to the hospital due to fever, vomiting, and signs of neurological problems. It was observed that he already has cross eyes, uncoordinated muscle movements, increased reflexes and restlessness. One day after, he had seizures and cardiac arrest that caused his death as reported by Live Science.
The boy was bitten on the hands and face. In those parts of the body, there are vast amounts of vessels that the virus can penetrate. Anatomically, the face is near the brain that is why it didn't take long for the virus to infect his it.
