10-year-old French boy dies from rabies after being bit by puppy
The Local France - [email protected]
Published: 19 Oct, 2017 CET.
Updated: Thu 19 Oct 2017 09:27 CET
A French boy has died in France after being bit by a puppy whilst on holiday abroad.
The ten-year-old, from the Rhone in eastern France, contracted the illness after being bit by a puppy on a beach in Dikwella in southern Sri Lanka.
When he was originally bitten in August the family were not too worried, reports in France say.
However the boy soon deteriorated and was taken to hospital in Lyon on October 4th and placed in intensive care.
Rabies, which has an incubation period of 20 to 60 days, was confirmed as the cause of death on Monday by the Pasteur Institute in Paris.
Around 60 people, including members of the child's family, as well as students and staff at his school have since received a vaccination for the disease.
There have been no cases of "indigenous" rabies in humans in metropolitan France since 1924.
The only recent cases are of people who contracted the disease abroad, with 23 cases since 1970, and the last one occurring in 2014, according to health authorities.
Comments
See Also
The ten-year-old, from the Rhone in eastern France, contracted the illness after being bit by a puppy on a beach in Dikwella in southern Sri Lanka.
When he was originally bitten in August the family were not too worried, reports in France say.
However the boy soon deteriorated and was taken to hospital in Lyon on October 4th and placed in intensive care.
Rabies, which has an incubation period of 20 to 60 days, was confirmed as the cause of death on Monday by the Pasteur Institute in Paris.
Around 60 people, including members of the child's family, as well as students and staff at his school have since received a vaccination for the disease.
There have been no cases of "indigenous" rabies in humans in metropolitan France since 1924.
The only recent cases are of people who contracted the disease abroad, with 23 cases since 1970, and the last one occurring in 2014, according to health authorities.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.