In Texas, a 7-year-old boy died of rabies: his parents decided not to take him to the hospital after being bitten by a bat

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed that a 7-year-old Texas boy died of rabies after being bitten by a bat. In 2021, the United States recorded a record number of deaths from rabies in a decade. Read more about this publication Dailymail.

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A seven-year-old child picked up the animal near his apartment in the Medina district at the end of August 2021. The boy told his parents that it had bitten him, but they decided not to take him to the hospital because there were no bite marks, and the child had no symptoms.

But his condition gradually worsened over the next two months. Doctors were at a loss when a wave of hospital tests for more common infections came back negative.

His death is one of five rabies deaths in 2021. it the highest rate in a decade. Neither in 2019 nor in 2020 was there a single case of infection.

This comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned in May that rabies could enter the US through imported animals from high-risk countries.

Rabies is a viral disease transmitted by the bite of a rabid animal.

It is most commonly transmitted through dogs, but bats, coyotes, foxes, skunks, and raccoons are common carriers.

On the subject: Rabies, influenza and smallpox: 12 of the deadliest viruses on Earth

Rabies is one of the world's deadliest diseases, causing more than 99 percent of people to die if they don't get help.

Among its highly effective treatments is post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). If used early enough in the infection, it can save almost every case.

Nothing can cure rabies if symptoms have already started. Because of this, people need a series of vaccinations if they think they have contracted rabies.

Four out of five rabies deaths in 2021 were not vaccinated, and one refused due to vaccine fear.

The boy did not receive prophylactic treatment for rabies, known as PEP, even though he told his parents about the bite.

The family did not realize that contact without bite marks could in itself cause rabies. The child went to school, led a normal life and did not suspect that he was contagious.

Two months later, he was taken to the emergency room with itching and pain in his arm, where he was given an oral steroid and sent home.

The next day he developed a rash on one side of his body.

Doctors assumed it was shingles, and the child was prescribed a five-day course of the antiviral drug acyclovir, antihistamines, and ibuprofen.

His condition deteriorated rapidly, and a day later the boy became delirious and was given diazepam for spasms and gabapentin for pain.

The next day, the patient returned to the hospital with nausea, vomiting, profuse salivation, and a fever of 104°F (40°C).

He was delirious. Doctors thought he had an infection of the central nervous system, but all tests were negative.

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It wasn't until doctors were given a detailed history, including a bat bite two months ago, that doctors realized it could be rabies.

Experimental treatments were tried, but the child died 22 days after he first developed symptoms.

If he had been treated immediately after being bitten, the CDC said it is unlikely that he would have developed rabies.

Bats are the most common cause of rabies in the US, although people commonly associate the disease with dogs.

The CDC has warned that if you have been bitten by a bat or come into contact with it, you should seek immediate medical attention.

The last time the United States recorded deaths from rabies was in 2011, when there were 6.

As ForumDaily wrote earlier:

• In October 2021 at Illinois man aged 80 dies just over a month after he said he woke up in mid-August to find a bat clinging to his neck. He turned down a series of potentially life-saving shots due to a long-standing fear of vaccines. It was the first human case of the virus in the state since 1954.

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