Decade record: U.S. has spike in rabies deaths in 2021

Five Americans have died from rabies in 2021 — the highest number in 10 years — and health officials said three have refused a series of shots that could have saved their lives because of fears about the vaccines. Writes about this Daily Mail.

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report detailing the deaths, four of which were from contact with bats and the last from a rabid dog.

The number of deaths is worrisome, as the US previously reported only three deaths from the virus, which is most commonly transmitted through the bite of an infected animal, in the past four years.

In the report, CDC officials said the deaths were tragic and most preventable.

He added that patients experienced paralyzing symptoms, including "altered mental state, paralysis, seizure activity, and autonomic instability," before dying.

Among those who died from the virus was an 80-year-old Illinois man bitten by a bat who refused a series of potentially life-saving injections due to a long-standing fear of vaccines.

The unnamed man became infected in August after being attacked and bitten by an animal at his Lake County home where a bat roost was.

The report says that after the attack, the man passed the bat for rabies testing and ultimately tested positive.

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However, the man, having shown symptoms of the virus, refused post-exposure treatment - a series of shots usually given when symptoms appear that can suppress the disease if given immediately after exposure to the virus.

He died a month later. It was the first human case of the virus in the state since 1954.

An Idaho man and a Texas boy were also attacked by infected bats in 2021 and became infected. Both, however, did not receive injections, believing that there were no bites or scratches on their skin.

In these cases, victims “either downplayed their exposure or did not realize the severity of rabies,” said Ryan Wallace, a CDC rabies expert who co-authored the report.

Two other deaths also occurred in 2021. One of them was a Minnesota man who was also bitten by a bat. He was vaccinated, but an undetected immune system problem reduced their effectiveness, CDC officials said.

Another victim was bitten by a rabid dog while traveling in the Philippines and died in New York after returning to the United States.

It is known that bats are usually carriers of the virus and are the second most common spread after dogs.

The rise in the number of deaths

The rise in cases may be due to a lack of awareness of the risks of rabies, which boasts one of the highest mortality rates of any disease, and what to do after potential exposure.

The CDC noted that the number of rabid bats registered nationally in the United States has remained unchanged since 2007.

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“We in the United States have come a long way toward reducing the number of people contracting rabies each year, but this recent wave of cases is a sobering reminder that exposure to bats poses a real health risk,” Wallace said.

Cases of rabies in humans are rare, with one to three cases reported annually across the country.

But infection with rabies remains common, and an estimated 60 Americans receive postexposure vaccines each year.

Rabies is caused by a virus that attacks the central nervous system and is usually fatal to animals and humans. It is most commonly transmitted through the bite of an infected animal, with the majority of infections in the United States in recent years attributable to contact with bats.

The infection can cause insomnia, anxiety, confusion, paralysis, salivation, hallucinations, difficulty swallowing, and a fear of water.

Death can occur only a couple of weeks after the onset of symptoms. But this can be prevented by giving a series of five shots within two weeks of infection.

There were no reported rabies deaths in 2019 and 2020. The last time five deaths from rabies in the United States were recorded in one year was in 2011.

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