Rabies has kayaker in fight for life
Super-fit athlete still in coma after two weeks
THE son of a prominent Underberg farming family, Graeme Anderson, 29, is in a critical condition in the Pietermaritzburg MediClinic after contracting rabies from a stray dog – although there are hopeful signs.
Anderson is known worldwide for his extreme kayaking exploits on some of the world’s most challenging waters, including sections of the Amazon River.
Dr Grant Lindsay has been a friend of Anderson’s since the two were schoolboys. He was the first to proffer a diagnosis of Anderson’s condition, and administered palliative care until he could reach a Pietermaritzburg specialist.
Statistics show that there is around a five percent survival rate among victims who have developed full-blown rabies.
But as the Tribune went to press, Dr Lindsay was able to confirm an “encouraging” development in Anderson’s illness.
“I don’t want to pre-empt things, but in my opinion he is showing definite signs of improvement. In the past 24 hours he has become less oxygen-dependent, and doctors have stopped administering sedatives. I feel a lot more optimistic. In the next three or four days specialists will be able to assess his neurological condition. We have had ongoing support from experts in Thailand – where rabies is common – and from the US.”
Lindsay said Anderson had not contracted the virus from a dog bite. Instead, it was believed that a rabid dog’s saliva might have entered his system through a cut somewhere on his body.
“About six weeks ago Graeme picked up a stray cross-breed greyhound at the roadside near the Lesotho border. He was going to give it to a friend who had a pack of dogs,” said Lindsay.
“The animal didn’t seem well, though, so he tried to nurse it back to health. When the animal died, he buried it, not thinking it might have been carrying something that could pose a danger to humans.”
Later, on holiday in Mozambique with friends, he fell ill and had to return home. By the time Lindsay saw him, his condition had deteriorated significantly.
“He was extremely agitated and showing signs of hydrophobia,” Lindsay said. “I took the decision to sedate him and he was taken to hospital.
“We determined that his exposure to the dog matched the timeline of the progression of rabies. It takes about six weeks for the virus to travel up the nerves and cause acute symptoms.
“The dog was exhumed and although the first batch of tests was negative, further tests at the veterinary laboratory at Onderstepoort came up positive for rabies.”
The doctor said that specialists were following the experimental Milwaukee Protocol in their attempt to save Anderson’s life.
The core treatment prescribed is to put the patient in a chemically induced coma and administer antiviral drugs.
It was developed by Dr Rodney Willoughby following the successful treatment of 15-year-old Jeanna Giese of Wisconsin.
Giese became the first of only six people known to have survived symptomatic rabies without receiving the vaccine.
Lindsay said that survivors needed physical rehabilitation because there was generally an element of residual damage.
However, the Milwaukee Protocol did offer hope whereas before there had been none for those with full-blown rabies.
“When I practised in the Midlands a decade or so ago, I saw three small children die despite receiving the best medical care.”
It was reported yesterday that an eight-year-old boy died at the Emmaus Hospital in Bergville on Tuesday as a result of rabies, while a sevenyear-old Winterton girl was in the final stages of the disease.