One person dies from rabies in Guyana, first in 16 years

Three patients died at 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 said Thursday. All three patients were admitted to the intensive care unit between February 17 and March 1. “From the site

Gold panning Eau Claire”in southern Guyana.

Dates of death were not specified in the press release and analysis is still ongoing to determine the causes of death of the other two. So far, the only documented case of rabies in Guyana dates back to 2008, recalled Anne Lavergne, head of the Virus/Host Interaction Laboratory at the Pasteur Institute. “The main reservoir of rabies in South America is the vampire bat Desmodus rotundus”.

she explained to AFP.

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A deadly virus

The virus is deadly to all species, including humans, except bats. It’s not yet known how the victim became infected, Ann LaVergne said, adding that it’s possible that “An entire colony of bats is infected in a short period of time, increasing the likelihood of an encounter in the local human population”.

Health authorities are looking for 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, according to the prefecture and the ARS, which was illegal.