Johannesburg – South African health officials have filed the first human rabies case in 2022.
A 4-year-old child from the Eastern Cape has reportedly been confirmed to have rabies.
According to reports, the child was bitten on the lip on 1 December 2021 by a dog she was playing with and the incident took place near her home in Gqerberha.
No rabies post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) was solicited.
It further says, a month later, the child was admitted to the hospital with fever, nausea, vomiting, headache, anorexia, sleeplessness, anxiety, confusion, delirium, seizures, agitation, localized pain/paresthesia, autonomic instability, hypersalivation, and hydrophobia.
To date, reports suggest that there have been 562 positive rabies cases in animals, and nine human deaths.
During 2021, a total of 19 confirmed human rabies cases was reported from Eastern Cape (n=9), KwaZulu-Natal (n= 6) and Limpopo (n=4) provinces.
It is advised that dog owner take their pets for vaccination to curb the spread of rabies.
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