Amelie Botolier-Depois / AFP
One person died from rabies in France for the first time in 16 years. Illustrative photo of a bat.
Guyana – A rare disease making a comeback overseas. Three patients died in a Cayenne hospital, at least one of whom was infected with rabies, the first documented case in sixteen years, the prefecture and Guyana’s ARS indicated this Friday, March 29. All three patients were admitted to the intensive care unit between February 17 and March 1. “From the Eau Claire Gold Panning Site”In the south of the region.
“ Patients died on average within 10 days of admission » refers to the press release published by ARS. Analysis is still ongoing to determine the cause of death of the other two. The mechanism of contamination is unknown at this stage, said Anne Lavergne, head of the Virus and Host Interaction Laboratory at the Pasteur Institute.
“It is possible that an entire colony of bats is infected in a short period of time, making the probability of an encounter in the local human population high.” she added. In South America, There are very few ways to get infected with this disease. “The main reservoir of rabies in South America is the vampire bat Desmodus rotundus”.Anne Lavergne explained to AFP.
A virus fatal to all species except one
The virus is fatal to all species, including humans, except for bats, as specified by the WHO. ” Once clinical symptoms appear, rabies is fatal in almost 100% of cases”
Health authorities are trying to find people who may have been in contact with the patient and a public health mission will go to the Eau Claire site to assess the situation, which was illegal, the prefecture said. and ARS.
So far, the only documented case of rabies in Guyana dates back to 2008, recalled the head of the Virus and Host Interaction Laboratory at the Pasteur Institute.
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