Alert for cases of rabies: infections doubled in the province of Buenos Aires

The Rage, a disease caused by a virus of the Lyssavirus genus, returned to the province of Buenos Aires in a worrying way. According to the latest provincial Epidemiological Bulletin, cases doubled so far this year compared to 2022with detection of different sick animals and cases of bites in humans.

It’s a disease viral zoonotic which affects both domestic and wild animals and can lead to death. Zoonotic means that it is transmitted from animals to humans, through bites or scratches, usually through contact with contaminated saliva.

When a 33-year-old woman in Coronel Suárez died of rabies in May 2021 due to the bite of an infected cat, it had been 40 years since there had been a record of a death in Buenos Aires territory and 13 years in the country. The previous case had been registered in 2008, in the province of Jujuy.

The last episode of a human bite occurred he May 5th in the Buenos Aires town of San Jorge, in Lapridawhere a man was bitten by a cat. While the person remains hospitalized in evolution, the cat died. It is currently in the process of identifying the antigenic variant of the rabies virus involved.

Based on this result, the sanitary blockade actions began immediately with the local zoonoses teams and the provincial support of Rural Zoonoses, assisting the territory with the provision of anti-rabies vaccines for animal use. In this two-day blockade operation, 500 meters around the index case were covered. A total of 252 canines and felines were vaccinated. A survey of corpses and a search for other contacts, both animal and human, were also carried out.

“Regarding the person bitten by the index case, under follow-up for a potentially rabies accident (APR), the corresponding notification was made to the SNVS and post-exposure treatment was started in a timely manner when he went to a local health center. During 2023, 2 samples from bats that were negative and 1 sample from a feline that was positive were sent from the local zoonosis area of ​​the municipality of Laprida to the Laboratory of Urban Zoonoses,” reported the Epidemiological Bulletin of the Province of Buenos Aires (Week of April 23 to 29) on rabies cases.

“Preventive vaccines for the most serious diseases in dogs and cats are essential. Vaccination against various diseases such as rabies, parvovirus, distemper, canine coronavirus and all viral respiratory diseases in cats must be combated through animal vaccination,” he explained to infobae the vet Juan Enrique Romero.

And he added: “If we want to have our affections for a long time in health, we must vaccinate them every year, throughout the life of the animal.”

The statistics show that 132 cases have been registered in 2018 in Buenos Aires territory, 89 cases in 2019, 66 cases in 2020, 67 cases in 2021, 82 cases in 2022 and 58 cases so far in 2023. That means that anger in the Province is growing. It showed an increase of 23% from 2021 to 2022. And so far in 2023 it doubles the cases registered in 2022.

Thus, while the average number of rabies cases detected in animals in 2022 was 1 every 4 and a half daysdetection this year climbed to one case every 2 days.

The epidemiological bulletin warns that bats are the main cause of the spread of rabies, since they usually bite dogs and cats and then they bite humans. “Bats are the main source of transmission to animals and peoplethrough contact with their saliva in the event of a bite accident, although there is also the possibility that there is a viral passage from these natural reservoirs to other non-vaccinated species, what is called spillover phenomenon. It should be noted that, according to statistics from the Urban Zoonoses Laboratory, approximately 6.7% of the chiroptera (bats) sampled are positive for rabies”, highlights the release issued by the Buenos Aires Ministry of Health.

And he completed: “The last cases of spillover detected in the PBA were: 1 cat in Chascomús (2002), 1 cat in Lomas de Zamora (2008), 1 cat in Punta Indio (2009), 1 canine in Villarino (2012), 1 cat in La Matanza (2014), 1 cat in Valeria del Mar (2017), 1 cat in Balcarce (2020), one person in Coronel Suarez bitten by a cat that was not available for diagnosis (double spillover due to variant 4 or T . brasiliensis), 1 canine in the San Fernando Delta due to the Eptesicus spp. (2021) and this last case of a feline in the town of San Jorge in Laprida (variant in the identification process, SE 18/2023)”. Until epidemiological week 18 of 2023, in the Buenos Aires reference laboratory they received 54 canine heads, 78 cat heads, 4 fox heads and 756 bats. In the same period, 58 bats and a feline they turned out positive.

The growth of rabies cases in the province of Buenos Aires exposed the concern of the Buenos Aires health authorities who warned about the current situation by stating “that a case of human rabies represents a weakness in the health system”.

“The importance of rabies for public health, both in Argentina and in the world, lies in the high lethality of the disease. Although in recent times a significant reduction in animal rabies cases has been achieved in Argentina, its surveillance and control continue to be relevant due to the seriousness of the event. Epidemiological surveillance and investigation of this event should be encouraged in order to achieve a constant update of the regulations and their dissemination. It must be taken into account that a case of human rabies represents a weakness in the health system because there are tools to prevent the disease,” said the Buenos Aires Ministry of Health.

“Therefore, they should intensify surveillance actions in air and ground cycles through a correct identification of them; an adequate immunization strategy must also be applied in people and particularly in animals at risk, since these are the main source of infection for people”, he concluded.

Essentially the disease attacks the nervous system of mammals, including humans. Once clinical symptoms manifest and if left untreated, rabies is deadly, both for animals and people. While deadly, the good news is that it is 100% preventable through vaccination.

Experts say that vaccinating 70% of dogs and cats in high-risk areas can break the cycle of rabies transmission. For all this, vaccination is the best form of control and protection for animals and people, since it protects pets against the possibility of exposure to the disease through wild animals, and neutralizes the potential transmission to humans.

About 60,000 people die every year in the world due to this disease, which means 160 people per day or 1 every 9 minutes, and almost half of the fatalities are children.

“Rabies is a devastating disease in many parts of the world; especially in Africa and Asia, but also in America and some parts of Europe. In Argentina, bats are high transmitters of the disease and domestic animals are not being vaccinated in the required percentage. Vaccination is essential to eradicate the disease. Although we are living in difficult times in our country and in the rest of the world, it is important to continue working on education and prevention. Vaccination cannot be in the background. The fight against rabies saves lives, ”he explained to infobae the veterinary doctor Silvina Muniz, vice president of aveaca (Association of Veterinarians Specialized in Companion Animals of Argentina).

“It is also thought that animals that live in an apartment do not require vaccinations, because they are not in contact with stray animals. That is also a myth: Domestic animals can also contract rabies, they can be infected, for example, by bats, which are very common in buildings and transmit the disease,” said Muñiz, who stressed that from Aveaca they report on the importance of the disease with references to international associations to help address this problem, while promoting the preventive vaccination plan.

“We are working on educating society through our social networks. Veterinarians currently lead the post raising awareness among the population. It is a meticulous job of raising awareness and responsibility, which in recent years has greatly improved as the human-animal bond has strengthened ”, he indicated. The expert specified that the The incubation period for rabies is usually 2-3 months. although it may vary depending on factors such as the place of entry of the virus and the viral load.

Also There are two forms of the disease. The first is furious rage, in which signs of hyperactivity, excitable behavior, hallucinations, excessive salivation and difficulty swallowing occur, death occurs within a few days due to cardiorespiratory arrest. And the second is paralytic rage, in this the muscles are gradually paralyzed, beginning at the site of the bite or scratch, a gradual coma develops and finally death occurs.

In Argentina, although rabies is in principle controlled, the disease remains latent in bat populations throughout the country. and therefore the vaccination of pets remains essential to avoid the disease both in them and in people. This is because rabid bats change their habits and lose their ability to fly, exposing curious pets to bites.

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