A man died of rabies on April 3. He contracted the disease after an extended stay in Mali. Measures have been put in place to monitor his close entourage.
Rabies is back in Ile-de-France… and claims a victim. A man died on April 3 as a result of this disease, announced the Ministry of Social Affairs in a press release. He had been contaminated “during a prolonged stay in Mali. “
This case of imported rabies was confirmed on April 2 by the national rabies reference center of the Institut Pasteur. The Minister of Social Affairs, Marisol Touraine, immediately asked the health authorities to put in place protective measures. No case of human-to-human transmission has been found for the moment, but the immediate family as well as the nursing staff in contact with the patient will be referred to an anti-rabies center, the ministry said. All the people exposed to the risk of contamination have been identified.
A kitten infected at the end of 2013
France has been considered free since 2008. The last case of imported rabies reported in mainland France dates back to 2003, and no “indigenous” case (transmitted by a non-imported animal) has been reported since 1924. The very rare transmissions concern, like this victim, people who went to an area where the disease is rife. Latest alert: a kitten who died at the end of October 2013 of rabies, but which had not made any human victims. The animal had this time been imported from Morocco by plane.
Rabies is a disease transmitted from animals to humans by bite or scratching, via the saliva of infected animals. Human-to-human transmission is theoretically possible, although no cases have been confirmed. In humans, it manifests as a fever, followed by pain and itching at the site of the injury. The virus then spreads through the central nervous system, causing progressive inflammation of the brain and spinal cord. Unvaccinated victims die within days of cardiopulmonary arrest.
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