5 year old girl bitten by family dog with more than 10 wounds on her head

rabies - Photo 1.

Child patient bitten by family dog on the head - Photo: BVCC

Consecutive cases of dog bites

On April 26, the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases announced that it had just received two consecutive cases of dog bites.

The first case is a 5-year-old girl in Hanoi , attacked by a dog weighing more than 20kg in the head and face.

When admitted to the hospital, the baby had more than 10 wounds, including a deep wound with clear dog teeth marks. Doctors performed emergency treatment, stitching the wound with about 10 stitches to drain the fluid and reduce the risk of infection.

The baby is being monitored and continues to receive vaccination and anti-rabies serum.

Another case is a 45-year-old woman in Hanoi who was bitten on the hand by her own dog. The animal weighed only about 5-6kg but died shortly afterwards, one of the suspicious signs that could be related to rabies.

The patient immediately went to a medical facility near home for treatment and vaccination.

Summer - peak of rabies

Dr. Ngo Thanh Ha - Deputy Director of the Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases - warned that domestic dogs, including small dogs, if not vaccinated regularly, can still carry rabies vaccine, even if there are no obvious symptoms. The virus exists in saliva and can be transmitted to humans through bites.

Dr. Ha said that summer is the time when rabies is likely to break out. The heat makes dogs easily agitated and aggressive, while the situation of letting pets roam freely without vaccination is still common. This is a favorable condition for the rabies virus to spread in the community. Any subjectivity can be traded for health, even life.

Rabies virus is one of the most dangerous infectious agents, with a mortality rate of up to 100% if the patient has developed rabies. People need to fully vaccinate their pets, do not let dogs and cats roam freely; if dogs are taken outside, they must be muzzled.

Never let small children come into close contact with large dogs without supervision. If bitten by a dog, even a vaccinated dog, go to a medical facility for proper treatment and vaccination.