A man died of rabies in French Guiana and two other deaths are being analyzed, according to department authorities.
- A man died of rabies in Guyana. This is the first case in 16 years in this overseas department.
- Two other people, coming from the same site and hospitalized at the same time, also died. Analyzes are underway to see if they carried the rabies virus.
- A risk analysis was launched by the ARS in conjunction with the Ministry of Health and the rabies treatment center.
For the first time in 16 years, Guyana has a confirmed case of rabies. The patient, hospitalized at the end of February, died at Cayenne hospital, reveals a communicated of the prefecture and the ARS of Guyana. There could be two other cases.
Rabies: the patient came from a gold mining site
“Between February 17 and March 1, 2024, three people from the Eau Claire gold mining site were admitted to intensive care at Cayenne hospital and died on average within 10 days of their admission”, explains the ARS and the prefecture of Guyana. Samples revealed at the start of the week that one of them was infected with the rabies virus. “Analyzes are underway for the other two patients”they specify.
The authorities planned to go to the site where the patients lived to assess the situation and the risks. Although human-to-human transmission of rabies is very rare, the anti-rabies treatment center (CTAR) also carries out contact tracing of the deceased patient.
Rabies in Guyana: bats to blame?
The origin of the contamination of the deceased patient is not yet known. However, Anne Lavergne, head of the virus and host interactions laboratory at the Pasteur Institute interviewed by AFP, suggests that bats could be involved. “It is possible that an entire colony of bats was infected over a short period of time, leading to a higher probability of encounters on a localized human population.” The specialist adds: “the main reservoir of rabies in South America is the vampire bats Desmodus rotundus”.
Direct contact with the saliva of a contaminated animal through a bite, scratch or even licking of broken skin is the main mode of contamination. Although vaccination helps protect against rabies, the disease is always fatal when it appears. “Once the signs are declared, the progression is towards coma and death within a few hours to a few days. Apart from a few cases described, the outcome is always fatal when the disease is declared”explains thePastor Institute on his site. According to estimates, there are 59,000 deaths annually worldwide, mainly in Asia and Africa.
