Thai Ministry Of Public Health Has Warned People Of Rabies

[webfact]

People warned of rabies

BANGKOK, 27 December 2009 (NNT) – The Ministry of Public Health has warned people of rabies during this winter since no medication is available at present, according to Permanent Secretary for Public Health, MD Paijit Warachit.

MD Paijit said people still misunderstood that rabies would spread only during summer but actually, it could be found in all seasons, especially during winter when male dogs could get rabies from fighting for their mates. Rabies can transfer to people by biting, scratching or licking. Patients can fall ill from four days to as long as four years but mostly will live not more than one year. All cases result in death as there is no medical cure.

Patients suffering from rabies will prefer to stay in dark corners, as well as being anxious and aggressive. Terminal symptoms include locked jaws, large production of saliva, inability to swallow, hydrophobia, hallucination, and paralysis. 24 patients died of rabies in ten provinces this year. The number is already higher than last year.

Meanwhile, Disease Control Department Director-General, MD Manit Teeratantikanont, told dog owners to have their pets vaccinated. Anyone bitten by dogs is advised to quarantine the dog to observe its symptoms, bathe the wound, and meet physicians for vaccination. About 400,000 people are vaccinated against rabies annually.

-- NNT 2009/12/28

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[scratt]

So, advice is to chase after the crazy animal that just bit you and "quarantine" it.. and then go meet with Physicians (who have no medication) so that you can be vaccinated. <deleted>?

[junglist]

Kill it and burn the bodied of any animal with Rabies. I once killed a bat with this disease. Nasty what it makes them do. Don’t let other animals get this disease from eating the corpse.

[whichschool]

So instead of talking sh7te and doing nothing about it, why not go out and kill all stray dogs!

Im too clever to be a politician.

[animatic]

Kill it and burn the bodied of any animal with Rabies. I once killed a bat with this disease. Nasty what it makes them do. Don’t let other animals get this disease from eating the corpse.

Yes good advice.

[GungaDin]

Great news!

In a country that appears to have more stray dogs than people.

Round up all the strays for chrissake.

[beejoir]

Get a simple cheap Rabies jab...... if you don't it costs a fuc_k load for the full hit after being bitten.

[GungaDin]

Great news!

In a country that appears to have more stray dogs than people.

Round up all the strays for chrissake.

[Jingthing]

No medication available? A very odd article. Of course there is no treatment and the disease is 100 percent fatal (I do know of one exception) if you don't get the post-exposure shots quickly enough. But the DO have the post-exposure shots, don't they?

[Sheryl]

Yes, post expsoure vaccine available. but pre-exposure imunization is safer, cheaper and less risk of adverse reaction than the post-exposure series.

[***Lydia]

I think government shoud make some camapaign... I live in a smaller town... but even when I speak with my friends from Phuket (Thai people) they dont really know about these disiase...

I was surprised when my well educated friend, who even study in USA and have B a degre... she tol me.. sometimes she dont know why but the dogs dont want to drink ad then get mad...

I tried to explain her its rabies... but couldnt...

I see the other big problem is, that people dont know... rabies is not only a dog disease. Even people who heard about hydrophobia, they dont know that cats, bats can be infected too... and all mammals...

Its very very dangerous because I see so many people have cats. Those cats live in the wild a,nd never been vaccinated but people let them inside the home..let them eat from their dishes etc.

I think there should be some TV and radio campaign...

and maybe the government could do same as we do in EU with the foxes living in the forest... rabies is very very reduced with this strategy...

They put small food all over the forest. The food include vaccination, the fox eats it and cannot get the rabies.

Ok thats only my opinion and my suggestion...

PS i FORGOT SOME MORE: Vaccine can give only in first 2 weeks as I know... Its only 100% effective in that case...

But... if the people dont know about the infection they wont go to have the vaccine...

Edited December 28, 2009 by ***Lydia

[dumball]

'GungaDin' date='2009-12-28 15:16:39' post='3229579']

Great news!

In a country that appears to have more stray dogs than people.

Round up all the strays for chrissake.

I recall a 'Crackdown' talked about in BKK some years back to round up all stray dogs , what ever happened to that one ?

Please guys , when you go walking the streets , please do your honor bound duty to your chosen land of paradise , always , and I mean always , carry your dog catcher net with you where-ever you go . On being attacked , despite what horendous injury you may or may not have sustained , chase the guilty animal , trap it in your net and make a civilians arrest .

For the elderly amongst you , falling to the ground whilst suffering a heart attack after/during all of the exitement , will not preclude you from still doing your honour bound duty to apprehend the guilty beast . NOW , do you all have that clear in your heads ? Any questions ? Fine , now go buy your net .

[poldebol]

And what do you do when you see a rabid dog? I called my wife who works at the local hospital. She had no idea! There is no system to report rabies. Isn't that wonderful in a country that has a national number to order pizza's?

Two days ago I saw a half eaten dead cow near a dirt road. I drive along the beautiful rural roads of Sa Kaeo since more than a year. Some weeks I do nearly 800 kilometer. Never seen a dead mamal. Today I see a dead dog, close to the place where I saw the dead cow. 500 meter down the road I see a rabid dog (symptoms: extreme fearfulness, staggering, but no saliva).

A few years ago, in the midst of the avian flu campaign, I saw several dead pigeons in a park in Khon Kaen. The day before I had read in TBP an article about an outbreak, 30km from KK. Being a good citizen I reported what I had seen to a policemen. He congratulated my wife for my good behaviour. Being rather curious, I went back the next morning and saw men of the garbage department scooping up (no protection!) the dead pigeons in their dumpster. They said they found some nearly everyday.

[Jingthing]

I have been advised before that even in Thailand most people don't need pre-exposure rabies shots unless they work with animals.

Edited January 15, 2010 by Jingthing

[Trickcyclist]

are there rabies shots for people???

If so, how often do you need to top-up after getting the first?

Get a simple cheap Rabies jab...... if you don't it costs a fuc_k load for the full hit after being bitten.

[Trickcyclist]

is there a humans preventative rabies vaccine?

Get a simple cheap Rabies jab...... if you don't it costs a fuc_k load for the full hit after being bitten.

[siamiam]

are there rabies shots for people???

If so, how often do you need to top-up after getting the first?

Get a simple cheap Rabies jab...... if you don't it costs a fuc_k load for the full hit after being bitten.

Here is a link to the CDC website that may provide you with some answers:

http://www.cdc.gov/rabies/news/RabVaxupdate.html

I have had post exposure rabies vaccinations three times in my life, but because I have read that the treatment is somewhat different than what I had, years ago, I don't want to make any recommendations. Also, since this is a deadly disease, you should be getting your advice from someplace like the CDC or WHO....even doctors that don't specialize in rabies are reported to have made bad recommendations, (as in "you don't need the rabies vaccinations, no need to worry"), that have cost people their life.

What I will tell you, as this does not pertain to treatment, is this:

1) Rabies is a disease of the nerves, not the blood, so even what seems to be a 'nothing type of bite' or scratch, one that does not even bring any blood to the surface of your skin, but rather just a welt type rise in the skin, can give you rabies. Don't listen to anyone who tells you that you are being silly to want rabies vaccination for 'such a little scratch'.

2) Getting licked on the lips by what seems to be a healthy pet puppy, (like when you pick up your cute little dog for a smooch), can give you rabies, if the dog is a carrier of the disease, (if you have micro-trauma of the gums or mouth, something you would likely be unaware of). Thousands of people have died in India by contracting rabies in this way, (thousands of people are still dieing every year in India from rabies).

[moetownblues]

Symton - Large volume of salivia I think most thais watching large volumes of farang tourists ariving on planes at the airport suffer from this.

Just kidding....

[Screws]

Are there clusters of these rabies cases, or are they randomly distributed across Thailand?

If clustered, where?

[bangon04]

What we need is another Asean summit or similar, to force the authorities to clear up the strays for the sake of appearances. It maybe the wrong motive, but the right result.

[aras]

So instead of talking sh7te and doing nothing about it, why not go out and kill all stray dogs!

Im too clever to be a politician.

exactly