Two rabies deaths blamed on ‘complacency’

Another two villagers in Buri Ram and Rayong have died of rabies, bringing the total number of human deaths from the disease this year to 14.

One of the latest victims was a 55-yearold woman in Rayong’s Muang district while another was a 19-year-old resident of Buri Ram’s Lam Phai district.

Local authorities said many of this year’s victims died as a result of widespread complacency driven by the idea that vaccinations are not necessary when a person is bitten by an animal that appears to be good health.

“The incubation period of the deadly virus in people can last from one week to a year, but often symptoms don’t show up until it’s too late,” Suwannachai Wattanayingcharoenchai, chief of the Disease Control Department, told the media yesterday.

“People tend to be too complacent and don’t see a rabies vaccine as necessary,” he added.

He said the older lady was attacked by a dog during a New Year’s party on Jan 2 and died last week. She said she decided not to get vaccinated because local hospitals were overcrowded at the time by victims of road accidents.

Instead she opted for a “natural cure” that was ineffective, Mr Suwannachai said.

The 19-year-old man was bitten by a dog in April.

The dog’s owner had reportedly given him 1,500 baht to get himself vaccinated but he only received one of three injections, he said.