Ho Chi Minh City is currently making efforts with many measures such as establishing a team to catch loose dogs, proposing microchipping, and sanctioning… In particular, the hot season is fierce, rabies is tending to increase in animals causing harm. directly affects people’s health and lives.
A student who was bitten by a neighbor’s dog had to be vaccinated against rabies
VOV Traffic for many years has continuously received information asking for help from residents of an apartment building in District 4, Ho Chi Minh City about a household raising 100 dogs, causing both noise pollution, environmental pollution, and causing serious health problems. dangerous for many people. More significantly, on April 3, a conflict over keeping a dog defecating indiscriminately caused two neighbors to fight, leading to one person’s death.
These are conflicts that consume a lot of ink in newspapers and are often widely shared on social networks. Few people know that, according to statistics from the Department of Preventive Medicine, in 2023 our country will have 82 people die from rabies, nearly 700,000 people who were bitten by dogs and cats must be vaccinated, and the economic loss is nearly 1,000 billion VND.
From the beginning of 2024 until now, the whole country has recorded 27 deaths due to rabies, 100,000 people bitten by dogs requiring preventive treatment, doubling compared to the same period in 2023. Particularly, Ho Chi Minh City from the beginning of 2024 recorded Every month, about 10,000 people get vaccinated against rabies and there are 7 deaths. Among them, dogs cause injuries to people accounting for 74.8%, with up to 60% of people being injured at level 3:
“My dog, nearly 20 kg, bit me and had to have 7 stitches. Just the third shot cost 4 million, the serum shot was 1.6 million plus medicine, the cost of sewing the wound was 2 million in the first few days.”
“Bite for 10 days and 3 injections, lots of blood and very deep bite, the dog is about 20 kg”
Present at the Pasteur Institute vaccination clinic in Ho Chi Minh City, reporters continuously recorded cases of animal bites requiring rabies vaccination.
Patient Thanh Ha gets vaccinated and treats dog bite wounds at the Pastuer Institute
Doctor Dinh Van Thoi, in charge of the vaccination clinic at the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City, said that every day the Institute receives 10-100 patients for vaccination. Compared to the same period in previous years, the number of patients coming for vaccination has increased by more than 10. -20%: “We know that there is currently no treatment for rabies, and every time the disease occurs, it is 100% fatal. Therefore, the disease does not differentiate between children and adults. When bitten by an animal, the wound needs to be cleaned and taken to a medical facility to be examined by a doctor and prescribed a rabies vaccination. And only proper vaccination and the right dose can prevent the disease, and folk remedies such as venom extraction, liver extraction, and traditional herbal medicine treatment can hardly prevent rabies.”
Mr. Chau Kieu Manh (living in District 8, Ho Chi Minh City) took advantage of office hours to take his 9th grade son to be vaccinated against rabies and shared: “The dog next door was loose and bit him and gave him the first shot on Saturday. I think people who like to raise animals should protect them, put them on muzzles, otherwise they should be kept on a leash. If I take him to the toilet and keep it, if I let him loose and see the children, the dog will come back every day, which is very dangerous.”
Similarly, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Ha (living in Phu Nhuan) was bitten by a domestic dog and had deep wounds that required 7 stitches in both legs. When she went to the vaccination clinic, she had to be assisted by a wheelchair, and the doctor had to monitor her hygiene. Change wound dressings continuously.
After this incident, she will also give or sell hard animals and not keep them anymore because it is too dangerous.
The dog bite wound was so deep that the patient had to use a wheelchair every time he went for vaccination
Ms. Ha shared: “The dog was nearly 20 kg so it bit so hard that I had to have 7 stitches. When the wound opened, I immediately ran away, the skin was protruding with fat… Is it because it’s too sunny or something? I’ve had it for several years now and it’s very gentle. I don’t understand why this time it bit me even though I didn’t do anything to it. I also advise people who raise dogs to love them if they love them, if they love them they will love them, but I encourage them to stop raising dogs, to put it bluntly.”
Many cases of dog or cat bites in dangerous locations require injections of anti-rabies serum to support, so a doctor must consult a doctor to get enough shots and not skip doses to prevent the disease.
Doctor Dinh Van Thoi further recommends: “Dog bites on the face or in nerve-rich areas such as the tips of the fingers, legs, or multiple, deep and wide wounds are serious cases and require monitoring and vaccination. Fit. Usually, in these cases, the doctor assesses the risk and injects anti-rabies serum as additional support.
However, to inject anti-rabies serum, it depends on the condition of the wound. Second is the animal’s condition. Third is whether that person has ever been vaccinated against rabies. At that time, the doctor will decide whether to inject anti-rabies serum or not.”
Ho Chi Minh City established 59 teams to catch loose dogs
Faced with the complicated developments of rabies, Ho Chi Minh City has established 59 teams to catch loose dogs in communes and wards and punish a series of pet owners who do not manage their pets. Next, on March 14, the Prime Minister issued a telegram focusing on strictly implementing rabies prevention and control, requesting localities to strengthen strict handling of cases of violation of legal regulations in the prevention and control of rabies. Raising and managing dogs and cats. Investigate, prosecute, and resolutely handle cases of non-compliance with regulations in raising and managing dogs and cats leading to serious consequences according to the provisions of law.
