Child dies of rabies in KZN

Enseleni boy, 6, bitten by dog

A6-YEAR-OLD boy from Enseleni, near Richards Bay, has died of rabies after being bitten by a dog.

His death in hospital last week follows a string of cases among dogs in Kwa Zulu-Natal since December. Last September, a 2-year-old also died from rabies in nearby Eshowe.

“We have put up a rabies vaccination programme commencing immediately in Enseleni and Mtubatuba,” said Khayelihle Nkwanyana, spokesperson for the provincial agriculture department.

The boy fell ill while on a visit to family in the Mtubatuba area and was taken to a clinic, by which time it was too late.

“He was transferred to a Durban hospital, where he passed on,” said Nkwanyana.

“It is unfortunate and regrettable that the child was not sent to a healthcare centre on the day of the dog bite for medical intervention as rabies moves very fast and damages the brain.

“Kids sometimes play with dogs and get light bites, which parents ignore.

“We need to drive this message to the community and get them to take it seriously,” said Nkwanyana.

Vet Dr Vanessa Meyer couldn’t agree more.

“There is a desperate need for education, especially in rural areas,” she said.

Meyer is a founder of the Rabies Awareness Body in Eshowe (Rabies), a volunteer body that offers free vaccinations to dogs.

She said people needed to realise the possible dangers: a scratch from a rabid dog was enough to spread rabies.

Meyer added that the world had the technology and the vaccine to eradicate rabies, but that education among people was the weak point.

“People must know that if someone is bitten, or scratched, they must wash the wound in soap and water for 10 minutes at least to help kill the virus in the wound.”

Then they must get to a medical facility as soon as possible.

The African News Agency, meanwhile, reports that the provincial health department is urging people to treat all dog bites as harmful after the death of a 14-year-old girl.

She was admitted to the intensive care unit of East London’s Frere Hospital after she had contracted rabies encephalitis earlier this month.

“The patient was referred from Butterworth Hospital.

“Before being admitted to ICU, she was already in the late stages of the disease and there was unfortunately little doctors could do,” said health department spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo.

He said the girl was reported to have been bitten by a stray dog in the village of Kotana, near Nqkamakwe, at the end of November.

She started developing weakness, confusion and fever a week before being admitted to Butterworth Hospital.