(7/22/2012)
After being warded for two nights in the isolation unit of Bali’s Sanglah General Hospital, a 55-yar-old Balinese woman died on Thursday, July 19, 2012, suspected to be the latest death due rabies.
Ni Made Wanti of Banjar Paseh, Ketwel, Gianyar displayed symptoms consistent with rabies when brought to the hospital, including hydrophobia, photophobia and severe cramping.
As reported by Denpost, the women’s family confirmed to doctors that she had been bitten by a street dog four months ago, but failed to seek medical treatment that should have included a series of anti-rabies vaccine (VAR) inoculations.
A field survey by the anti-rabies team from the Bali Department of Health conducted at the woman’s village confirmed that two of her neighbors were also bitten by the dog, but had immediately sought medical and VAR treatment.
The woman’s husband, Ketut Pugig (60), told the press that his wife had also been bitten by a local dog in 2010, but failed on two separate occasions to obtain the “free” VAR from the Denpasar hospital where the medical staff told them the VAR stocks were finished. Apparently, the couple’s earlier experience disuaded them for seeking medical treatment after the latest attack.
The woman’s death brings to six the number of human fatalities linked to rabies in Bali in 2012. There were 11 deaths of humans in Bali due to rabies in 2011.
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