Death Due To Rabies On The Rise – Latest News!

Death due to bats has become one of the main concerns for humans with the ongoing pandemic, which is stated to have come from bats. In a similar situation, CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) has stated that there have been five deaths due to rabies which comes from bats. 

Death Due To Rabies On The Rise – Latest News!

Deaths have been reported in Illinois, Texas, Minnesota, and Idaho, where people came in contact with bats in the period of September to November. Researchers state that the death due to rabies is very low and hasn’t been much since 2011, it is now coming back because people due to lack of awareness of rabies. 

Dr. Wallace stated that the US has seen fewer and fewer rabies cases in the past couple of years; however, now people are not treating this as a major concern and thus are not taking the necessary precautions which are causing these deaths.

The rabies vaccine is given to everyone at an early age. However, many people have started to skip this as per the reports out of 5 people who died 3 did not get any treatment for this while one had bats in their home and the other one tried picking a bat with their bare hands when it bit him.

If a bat bits a person a virus is being sent to our CNS (Central Nervous System) and even to the brain causing a stroke or some other form of attack to the body. Symptoms of rabies are flu, tiredness, headache, or fever as per sources from CDC. Itching is seen in almost all cases of rabies. The initial symptoms, if not treated right away, could progress into insomnia, hallucinations, agitations, anxiety, and delirium as well.

Dr. Wallace stated that even though there were only 5 deaths in 2021 it is still sad that people are going in direct contact with bats when they should know how dangerous it is. CDC has stated that if a person suffers from bat wounds, they should wash it off immediately and seek medical advice as soon as possible.

It is also known that bats need not bite humans in order to spread the virus; their saliva has the same effect as a bite mark. PEP (Post-exposure prophylaxis) should be taken if a person is bitten by a bat which consists of human rabies immune globulin and rabies vaccines.

This is made up of 3 more shots which are to be taken in the next 2 weeks. PEP has been in existence for a long time and has been proven 100% effective with no side effects for any person.

CDC stated that every year 60,000 people have to take PEP after they get exposed to bats, since the vaccine is strong enough the death rate is very low. Researchers have stated that killing off bats is not the answer as they help many factors in the environment which are not humanly possible. Most of the people who get PEP are adults who are working in caves or exploring the jungle.

Peter David, a dietician from California, was on a trekking trip when he visited a cave and was exploring it. He didn’t know the cave was a nest for the bats and was bitten by 2 bats however taking PEP at the right time saved his life.

Medical health professionals have stated that people should get their rabies vaccine at a young age as this will protect them in many ways even if the bite attacks them. 

Many of the hospitals and health care centers are nowadays providing free seminars on rabies to make people more aware and how to deal with rabies.