Even though no cases of rabies has been recorded so far in 2023, a total number of One Hundred and Ninety Seven (197) cases of dog bite has been reported in various health facilities in the Upper East Region between January and April 2023.
Rabies is one of the viruses ignorantly taken for granted by the general public. Is a kind of sickness that easily consume innocent lives for something that could be prevented if realized on time.
According to the report, It is estimated that rabies is responsible for 59,000 agonizing human deaths every year – with most of those people living in poor rural communities in Africa and Asia. 40% of these deaths happen in children below the age of 15 years.
Below are a few things you need to know about dog bite and rabies virus
■ Rabies is a viral zoonotic disease caused by a neurotropic virus of the family Rhabdoviridae, genus Lyssavirus, a subgroup rabies virus that causes progressive and fatal inflammation of the brain and spinal cord.
■ Clinically, it has two forms:
■ Furious rabies – characterized by hyperactivity and hallucinations.
■ Paralytic rabies – characterized by paralysis and coma.
■ Rabies affects all warm-blooded animals, and the disease is prevalent throughout mainly in developing countries of Asia and Africa, including Ghana.
■ Rabies remains one of the most important zoonotic diseases, with case fatality rates approaching 100%.
■ Bites from domestic dogs constitute the major mode of rabies transmission, disproportionately affecting the poorest communities. Suzuki et al., 2008
■ Dogs are the main source of human rabies deaths contributing to 99% of all cases
■ Rabies remains one of the under reported, neglected tropical diseases that affects the marginalized, poor and vulnerable populations
How big is the problem?
■ It is estimated that rabies is responsible for 59,000 agonizing human deaths every year – with most of those people living in poor rural communities in Africa and Asia. 40% of these deaths happen in children below the age of 15years.
■ To put that into perspective, one person dies of rabies somewhere around the world every nine minutes. In addition to the human deaths, it is estimated that hundreds of thousands of animals also die of rabies every year, creating suffering for individual animals and for the families who depend on these animals as a source of livelihood or companionship.
■ Rabies is 100% fatal with no cure once clinical signs start.
■ Rabies kills people and domestic animals such as dogs and cattle
■ Rabies causes financial hardship when people have to pay for vaccination after bite wounds including the cost of the medical treatment, and cost of travel to the medical facility
■ Children are at a greater risk of getting rabies. This is because children:
■ Play with animals
■ May not report bites
■ May receive more severe bites
■ Are often bitten in the head
■ People with limited resources and knowledge especially in rural areas are those most at risk of the disease.
Please kindly, remember to report any dog bite incident to any health facility near you for immediate medical assistance. For they say, prevention is better than cure.
Source: Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana
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