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After the trip to Morocco: a British man dies of cat bite due to rabies
A British citizen died of rabies after a stay in Morocco. The man apparently was infected after being bitten by a cat in this country of North Africa. The last case of rabies in Germany was also due to an infection in Morocco.
Avoid contact with animals
A Briton died after being enraged during a trip to Morocco. The British health authority Public Health England (PHE) said the man had been infected with a cat bite. In a paper, the experts now call citizens traveling to countries affected by rabies to avoid contact with animals, otherwise they may become infected.
The patient was not vaccinated in time
Jimmy Whitworth, a professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, told the Press Association press agency, according to an article in the British newspaper The Guardian:
"After what I understood, the man was in contact with a cat that behaved in an unusual way."
He badumed that the patient had sought medical help in Morocco and the UK "but unfortunately did not receive any vaccine until it was too late.I think the cat was bit this person a few weeks ago. "
According to the expert, the symptoms usually last two to three months, or even manifest in a week.
"That's why it's so important to get immediate care and get vaccinated," Whitworth says. "In this tragic case, the person did not receive the vaccine on time."
Rabies requires tens of thousands each year
According to estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO), about 59,000 people die from rabies each year around the world. In Germany, the dangerous infectious disease was practically eradicated.
The virus has been detected in this country in recent years only in bats. This is why experts warn that they never touch animals with bare hands.
"For people living in Germany, the risk of infection is currently almost exclusively increased when one travels to countries where rabies is endemic," writes the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) on its website.
Therefore, according to health experts, the risk of rabies must always be taken into account, especially in long-distance travel.
Dog bite infections
"Most human deaths result from dog bites infected with rabies.While dogs are the main reservoir of clbadical rabies virus, foxes have been foxes in Germany in the past," says RKI.
Even if damaged skin or mucous membranes of the mouth, nose or eyes, for example, come into contact with infected canine saliva, the virus can be transmitted.
However, the last case of rabies in Germany goes back a long time. C & # 39; was a man bitten by a stray dog in Morocco in 2007.
There is no cure for rabies
"If you are bitten, scratched or licked by an animal, you must wash the wound or place of exposure with soapy water and seek immediate medical attention," said Dr. Mary Ramsay of the authority of PHE health.
While waiting to see the symptoms of rabies, it is usually too late for treatment.
An infection with the rabies pathogen is usually treated with an immediate active vaccine and with special antibodies (immunoglobulin). A preventive vaccine is also available.
There is no cure for rabies. Although the disease does not occur in infected persons, but it does occur, it ends at almost 100%.
Without treatment, the infection causes death very quickly
After an infection, unusual symptoms such as headaches and loss of appetite result. The fever does not occur at all.
Burns, itching and increased sensitivity to pain in the bite area are also possible. At this point, it may already be too late for treatment.
Later, it is among other things convulsions in the pharyngeal muscles and a considerable fear of drinking. The mental state of the patients alternates between aggressive moods and depressive moods.
"Death usually occurs in coma and under the signs of respiratory paralysis.Between the onset of first symptoms and death in untreated patients, a maximum of 7 days," writes the RKI. (Ad)
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