Woman Bitten By Stray Puppy Dies Weeks Later
A new report from the CDC chronicles the tragic case of a 65-year-old Virginia woman who was bit by a dog during a yoga retreat in India and died some weeks later from rabies, the New York Daily News reports.
“Despite aggressive treatment,” per the report, the unnamed woman became the ninth person in the US since 2008 to die from rabies, a disease that kills some 59,000 people throughout the world each year. A puppy bit the woman while she was in Rishikesh in early 2017.
“I don’t believe that she was playing with the puppy, but the puppy was seen in the area and approached her,” Julia Murphy, Virginia’s state public health veterinarian, tells NBC.
The woman reportedly cleaned the wound, but she took no other precautions. It wasn’t until she was back home in May, some six weeks later, that she began to show symptoms.
But once symptoms—including pain, anxiety, insomnia, and trouble swallowing water—appeared on May 7, the disease progressed rapidly.
Eventually, doctors attempted the Milwaukee protocol, “an experimental protocol … that has demonstrated inconsistent, rare success,” which involves putting the patient into an induced coma. On May 21, the woman’s family withdrew medical support and she died.
According to the CDC, rabies treatment is very successful if it is administered before symptoms appear. But once symptoms are present, rabies is almost always fatal.
Two people in the US and a few more worldwide have survived rabies after symptoms appeared; they were treated with the Milwaukee protocol, which has failed in other cases.
Edited via Newser.
About Post Author
Professor Mike
More Stories
What in the World Happened to the Ginger Kitten?
The abrupt sound of multiple barks pierced the stillness of the night. It was an unsettling deviation from their customary...
Warning: Be Careful When Walking Your Dog In Alligator Country
Mike McCoy has read up a bit on alligator attacks and he knew what to do if you find yourself in one—and good thing too.
MadMikesAmerica To Remain Open For Business
We are staying open. MMA may not be as active as it once was, but why close this one, with all those articles still available to read, and maybe more to come?
Fox News Guest: Ghoulish Trump Has Blood On His Hands
Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) told Fox News on Sunday that former President Donald Trump is guilty of a “ghoulish” attempt to undermine the economy by downplaying the need for Covid-19 vaccinations.
Disgusting Ted Cruz Forgets History of Conservatives Like Elvis Promoting Vaccines
Recently, the beloved Sesame Street character Big Bird went on television and social media to promote COVID-19 vaccines. For anyone who has been conscious for at least a few years, celebrities—especially ones with larger fanbases amongst the youth of the country—promoting public health initiatives is not surprising. It has been going on forever and ever.
Crazy Louie Gohmert: Climate Action Would Force Us To Brush Our Teeth With Bark
[caption id="attachment_187456" align="aligncenter" width="615"] Getty images[/caption] by Aldous J. Pennyfarthing How the hell did Republican Louie Gohmert of Texas ever become...
India? What does anyone expect?
They have a similar problem in Mexico. According to some wildlife experts two or three generations in the wild the dogs begin to revert to their wilder, pack instincts far survival.
The problem of large stray and feral dog populations isn’t just the sad plight of starving and sick dogs. I’ve read about packs of feral dogs in Bombay slums attacking people and then, of course there’s rabies. I’m sure there are people working hard to spay and neuter dogs and adopt out dogs, but it’s on such a huge scale in India.
About 8 months ago a pack of wild dogs killed 6 children. Apparently, they roam the streets of India in the hundreds of thousands.