A two-and-a-half-year-old child passed away yesterday at the Negara Public Hospital in Jembrana following a three-day medical treatment after reportedly being bitten by a rabies-infected dog.
The toddler, NKC, was reportedly bitten by his neighbor’s dog in Banyubiru Village in Negara in early April. NKC’s father KDS told local media that after the incident, NKC was rushed to a local community health center, where the kid received wound dressing and an unnamed syrup medicine.
The neighbor’s dog reportedly went missing five days after the biting incident. KDS quickly called the health center to report about the dog’s disappearance and was told to bring his son two weeks later.
Last weekend, however, NKC suffered a high fever, was struggling to swallow food, and developed intense fear of water or hydrophobia. All are symptoms of rabies infection.
He died yesterday afternoon.
Last week, a 65-year-old man in Mendoyo, Jembrana also died after being bitten by a rabies-infected dog. The man, WS, was bitten by his pet dog four months before his passing and refused to go to the hospital even after the dog died three days after biting him. A couple of days before his death, WS’ health deteriorated and he could not eat or drink anything in addition to showing tantrums.
Rabies has been a major problem for around two decades in Bali, leading to the occasional cullings of stray dogs. Ironically, it has been documented that some of the culled dogs have been vaccinated against rabies.
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