Rabies kills more people than any other disease

Rabies kills more people than any other disease(Xinhua)Updated: 2006-10-10 21:20Rabies killed more people in China than any other infectious disease for the fifth consecutive month in September.There were 318 deaths caused by rabies last month while 393 people were reported bitten by rabid animals. The incidence of the disease is up 36.93 percent from last September, the Ministry of Health said Tuesday.September is the fifth month rabies has topped the list of most deadly infectious disease. Prior to May tuberculosis topped the list.China has recorded 2,254 rabies cases in the first nine months of the year, an increase of 29.69 percent over the same period last year.The ministry called for better monitoring and detection of outbreaks of rabies across the country."People should seek immediate treatment from hospitals if they are scratched or bitten by a dog, " warned Mao Qun'an, spokesman of the ministry.Rabies, often spread by dog bites, attacks the nervous system and is fatal in humans if not treated prior to the on-set of symptoms.Rabies emerged as top public health priority three months ago as rabies caused the deaths of three people in southwest China's Yunnan Province and local authorities in Yunnan and Shandong provinces sought to curb the risk through mass killings of dogs.Beijing launched a week-long campaign to clamp down on unlicensed dog breeding with the goal of preventing an outbreak of rabies. No urban resident in Beijing has contracted the disease this year.China ranks second in the world after India in the number of reported cases of rabies, according to the ministry.Every year more than 50,000 people around the world die of the disease, most of them are from developing countries.1,735 died of rabies in China during first 8 months this year(Xinhua)Updated: 2006-09-26 16:54BEIJING - China's Ministry of Health reported a total of 1,874 rabies cases in China during the first eight months of this year, with 1,735 deaths.The figure is up 29.2 percent on last year, the ministry said.The cases were found in 21 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities across China including Guizhou, Guangxi, Hunan, Guangdong and Hubei.The ministry said that China ranks second in the world after India in terms of the number of rabies cases.Every year more than 50,000 people around the world died of the disease, with most of them living in developing countries.How to treat a rabies bite(China Daily)Updated: 2006-08-30 05:59Dog bites are the most common way rabies is spread. An infected animal carries the rabies virus in its saliva and can transmit it through biting.After a bite, the rabies virus can spread into the person's surrounding muscle, then travel up a nearby nerve to the brain.Once the virus infects the brain, it can cause severe, possibly permanent injury.The symptoms of rabies typically appear about four days after the bite occurs.One of the most distinctive signs of a rabies infection is a tingling or twitching sensation around the area of the animal bite. It is often accompanied by a fever, headache, muscle aches, loss of appetite, nausea and fatigue.The most effective protection against rabies is to wash and flush the wound with soap and water.Go to hospital immediately after a dog bite to receive an injection of anti-rabies vaccine.Anti-rabies immunoglobulin should be injected if the wound is deep or the parts of neck, head, face, and fingers are bitten.Be sure to keep in mind that the wounds should not be wrapped or stitched, but should be exposed.Postmen bite back at dog ownersBy Wu Chen(China Daily)Updated: 2006-10-17 05:56After 15 years on the job, Tan Xu has joined that select international brotherhood of mail workers that is just emerging in China postmen bitten by dogs.Tan's demise came in April when he dropped his guard and sustained a serious bite on his right leg from a territorial cocker spaniel.He received 3,000 yuan (US$375) in compensation from the dog's owner, but31-year-old Tan was too scared to go out on his rounds again and plumped instead for a job at the dispatch office, checking mail and parcels.Two dark brown tooth prints still show five months after the attack."They ache when it's overcast or damp," Tan said, touching his scars. The fear of rabies haunts him, despite the fact that he received a rabies shot immediately after the bite.Tan said the owner used to fasten the dog when he came to the single-storey house in Xiaojiangfang Hutong, in Xicheng District of Beijing, but one day his delivery coincided with the owner's return home. "The dog rushed at me from the yard when he opened the door, and there was no time to react," Tan recalled.He said three or four other delivery and maintenance people had been attacked by the dog before him."Deliverymen, plumbers and other professionals who have to go into houses to provide services all face the threat of being attacked by pet dogs, if the owners don't watch them," Tan said.Yang Yuanting, head of the delivery department of Ganshiqiao Post Office, said the postmen in her department, like Tan Xu, came across many dogs every day in the hutong (narrow, winding alleys typical of Beijing), where many owners allowed their pets to roam unleashed."Some owners even send their dogs to chase the postmen, just for fun," Yang said angrily.On the website of the Beijing Centre for Diseases Control and Prevention, dog owners, veterinarians, laboratory researchers of the rabies virus, doctors and nurses taking care of rabies patients, and people travelling in rabies affected regions are defined as high-risk groups for rabies. They are advised to have pre-vaccinations.Although postmen are not listed, Beijing Post Bureau figures show that 90 of the city's 2,000 postmen were bitten by dogs from January 2004 to May 2006. Three of them were bitten twice.The postman's problem is well-known abroad. A report on the China Radio International (CRI) website said 100 to 200 postmen were bitten by pet dogs every year in Switzerland.Every postman in Switzerland is issued with a pamphlet on how to deal with dogs and new recruits receive special training on dealing with dogs. However, no such instruction is offered to their Chinese counterparts.Gao Weidong, chairman of the trade union of Beijing Post Bureau, said the union had held meetings to warn postmen of the danger and told them to be on their guard when delivering mail. "We are not specialists in this field and it's difficult for us to tell them how to prevent an attack," Gao said.Dog owners are legally obliged to ensure victims of their pets are sent to hospital immediately and to pay for the medical expenses. Unlicensed dogs are impounded and the owners fined up to 5,000 yuan (US$616).Gao said postmen could refuse to deliver mail to houses with dangerous dogs until their safety is assured. Others who have never been bitten also fear dogs.Yu Weidong, 49, always has at least 10 dogs barking around him on his 20-minute delivery run to about 15 households.In front of one home, Yu pointed to three dogs yapping at him and said loudly: "Get away!"The warning sparked a protest from the middle-aged woman owner: "Stop doing that. They didn't mean to attack you. You frightened them."Yu said: "See? They only care about the dogs, not about whether their beloved pets bother other people."Yu refused to blame the animals."After all, they are animals and it's natural for them to protect their owners," he said.Yu said the owners should watch their dogs carefully, and keep them leashed in accordance with regulations issued in 1994 to govern pet ownership, Yu said.Tan Xu agreed, saying the owners were responsible for controlling their pets. "Many people are unsuited to raising dogs. They even can't take good care of themselves," Tan said.He said regulations on the behaviour of dog owners were rarely enforced."It's impossible for the public security bureau to check the dogs all day long," Tan said.According to the Beijing Public Security Bureau, the city has 550,000 registered dogs, but the number of unlicensed animals is unknown.About 70,000 people were injured by dogs in the first half of the year, according to local health authorities.Although everyone who reported being bitten by a dog in Beijing was vaccinated against rabies and none developed the disease, according to the Beijing Municipal Health Bureau, the experience still left physical and psychological injuries.。