The Sarawak state health lab reported Friday that a Kuching man bitten by a dog in November tested positive for rabies, making him the seventh case in the Malaysian state sine June 2017.
Image/CDC
The 59-year-old man from Jalan Batu Kawa-Matang, Kuching showed symptoms of the disease such as hydrophobia, hallucinations, aggressiveness,” said the Sarawak Natural Disaster Management Committee in a statement on Saturday. The patient is currently warded at the Sarawak General Hospital’s intensive care unit.
The Borneo Post reports he sought treatment at a private clinic on the same day he was bitten, but was not referred to the government health facility where he could get vaccinated against the rabies virus.
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Rabies has killed five people since June 30 last year, with two other victims still under treatment at Sarawak General Hospital (SGH). Of the fatalities, four of them were children between the ages of 4 and 7 and the fifth death was that of a 52-year-old man.
A 7-year-old boy from Kampung Kuala in Gedong, Serian, is still on life support at SGH since his admission on August 3.
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