A 9-year-old child died of rabies in Elazığ.

9-year-old foreign national Muhammed Muaz, who was being treated for rabies in Şanlıurfa, suddenly fell ill last night.

RABIES CLAIMED A LIFE

The child's health deteriorated, and he was transferred to Elazığ Fethi Sekin City Hospital. Despite all interventions, Muaz passed away. The child's lifeless body was taken by his family to be buried in Şanlıurfa.

WHAT IS RABIES?

Rabies is a viral disease that is most commonly transmitted through the bite of an infected animal, can be seen worldwide except Antarctica, and is preventable by vaccination.

HOW IS IT TRANSMITTED?

The virus spreads when an infected animal bites another animal or a human. Rabies can also be transmitted when the saliva of an infected animal comes into contact with an open wound, eyes, or mucous membranes of the mouth. Stray dogs are among the animals with the highest risk of transmitting the rabies virus to humans.

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS?

The incubation period for rabies is typically 1-3 months but can vary from 1 week to 1 year. Initial symptoms are very similar to flu symptoms, including general weakness, restlessness, fever, and headache. These symptoms can last for days. Pain, tingling, or itching at the site of the bite, followed by anxiety, confusion, and irritability may develop in the following days. As the disease progresses, more pronounced symptoms emerge due to the involvement of the central nervous system, including insomnia, hallucinations, abnormal behaviors, loss of consciousness, mild or partial paralysis, hyperactivity, aggression, increased salivation, difficulty swallowing, and fear of water and sometimes air. The acute phase of the disease typically ends after 2-10 days.

Once the clinical symptoms of rabies appear, only supportive treatment can be provided, and it almost always results in death. Death occurs within days after the onset of symptoms. To date, only 10 cases of clinical rabies survivors have been reported, and only 2 of them had no history of vaccination before or after the bite.