A case of rabies encephalitis after 3 months due to dog bite in Azerbaijan

Abstract

Rabies is an infectious zoonosis that kills tens of thousands of people worldwide every year, which can be prevented by effective measures. It is estimated that 55.000 people die per year due to rabies worldwide.

In this report, 36-year-old male patients admitted to a hospital in Azerbaijan three months ago with a history of dog bite, fever, confusion, speech deterioration, cough, nausea, vomiting, low back pain and headaches. The patient's complaints continued for 3 days and no immunization was performed after contact. Cerebrospinal fluid samples from the patient were found to have high protein levels and were referred to our hospital with the diagnosis of encephalitis. In the patient who was followed with the diagnosis of rabies in intensive care unit, cardiac arrest occurred on the 1st day of hospitalization despite all the treatments. He did not respond to resuscitation performed after cardiac arrest. Viral nucleic acid for rabies virus was detected in Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction test in sent hair follicle samples.

Preventing the disease is more effective than treating. For this reason, it is necessary to take measures by vaccination of domestic and wild animals which are at risk of transmission of rabies and avoiding contact with wild animals.