Baby bites and infects father and brother with rabies
Published: 2013 October 07 06:21:48 (4036 Views)
A baby infected with rabies unwittingly spread the disease by biting its father and brother, a medical charity has revealed.
The infant was among ten people to die in an outbreak in the war-ravaged Democratic Republic of Congo. Another 154 people have been infected.
Its father, 27, and seven-year-old brother were both treated and have recovered, Medecins Sans Frontieres told Metro.
Team leader Dr Jantina Mandelkow said: 'I held my breath when I heard that a child dying of rabies had bitten and infected his father and brother – it was horrific.
'It's an impossible situation. Family members would obviously want to be with those who are ill but when a person has rabies they are can be a danger to people around them.'
MSF teams have vaccinated 106 people in eastern Lemera but fear there could be at least 20 more untreated cases.
Rabies originates in stray dogs and MSF is demanding the Congolese government vaccinate domestic animals as many people cannot afford the £3.75 fee.
Healthcare has been severely debilitated by instability that has claimed 5.4million lives since the outbreak of civil war in 1998.
'Rabies leads to death without treatment, and people in Lemera were incredibly scared – many walked for days to get to the hospital for treatment,' Dr Mandelkow added.
'With vaccinations unavailable elsewhere, they had nowhere else to turn. The situation in Lemera is exceptional and must be urgently addressed.'
- Metro
The infant was among ten people to die in an outbreak in the war-ravaged Democratic Republic of Congo. Another 154 people have been infected.
Its father, 27, and seven-year-old brother were both treated and have recovered, Medecins Sans Frontieres told Metro.
Team leader Dr Jantina Mandelkow said: 'I held my breath when I heard that a child dying of rabies had bitten and infected his father and brother – it was horrific.
'It's an impossible situation. Family members would obviously want to be with those who are ill but when a person has rabies they are can be a danger to people around them.'
MSF teams have vaccinated 106 people in eastern Lemera but fear there could be at least 20 more untreated cases.
Rabies originates in stray dogs and MSF is demanding the Congolese government vaccinate domestic animals as many people cannot afford the £3.75 fee.
Healthcare has been severely debilitated by instability that has claimed 5.4million lives since the outbreak of civil war in 1998.
'Rabies leads to death without treatment, and people in Lemera were incredibly scared – many walked for days to get to the hospital for treatment,' Dr Mandelkow added.
'With vaccinations unavailable elsewhere, they had nowhere else to turn. The situation in Lemera is exceptional and must be urgently addressed.'
- Metro
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