A teenage boy in Mexico has died from rabies after being bitten by a rabid bat.
The State Health Secretariat confirmed the death of the 13-year-old boy after he was attacked by bats carrying rabies in the municipality of Aquila, in the state of Michoacan.
News of the tragic death prompted authorities in Aquila and nearby municipalities to step up an antirabies vaccination campaign to prevent any more similar cases.
The events took place in the community of Los Limones where the boy was bitten by a bat in March.
However, it was not until this week that the case was confirmed through the weekly report of the National Epidemiological Surveillance System.
Health authorities revealed that the child was not immediately taken to any health centre after the attack; In fact, it was four weeks before he received medical attention.
It was highlighted that the child’s health status was critical at the time of his admission to the local hospital, where the rabies virus had already spread around his body.
Typically when rabies symptoms are exhibited, it is already too late and the disease is no longer curable.
This event marks the second death from rabies in Mexico and the first case recorded in the state of Michoacan after a man died in the state of Quintana Roo in February.
For their part, health authorities in Michoacan stated that no case of rabies in humans had been reported since 1996 in the region.
To find out more about the author, editor or agency that supplied this story – please click below. Story By: Aloysius Fernandes, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash
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