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Assessment of 200 pediatric patients exposed to rabies risk
Ali Osman Koksal1, Aslihan Arasli Yilmaz1, Osman Ozdemir1
1Departamento de Pediatría, Hospital de Formación e Investigación de Keçiören, Keçiören, Angora, Turquía.
Insights
Rabies is a significant health concern in developing nations. This study found that children aged 5-9 years were at higher risk, emphasizing the need for increased public awareness and animal control measures to prevent rabies transmission.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
- Pediatric Emergency Medicine
Background:
- Rabies continues to pose a significant public health challenge, particularly in underdeveloped and developing countries.
- Pediatric emergency clinics often serve as crucial rabies vaccination centers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the demographic characteristics of patients suspected of rabies exposure.
- To analyze the vaccination schedules and post-exposure prophylaxis in pediatric rabies cases.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of medical records for 200 patients admitted to a Pediatric Emergency Clinic with suspected rabies risk.
- Data collected included patient demographics, animal contact history, and vaccination status.
Main Results:
- The highest risk group for rabies exposure was children aged 5-9 years.
- Dog bites accounted for 68.5% of exposures, with 76% of the involved animals being strays.
- While 83.5% of cases received recommended post-exposure prophylaxis, only 42.5% received rabies vaccination alone.
Conclusions:
- Rabies remains a critical public health issue in developing countries.
- There is a need to enhance public awareness, control stray animal populations, and improve staff training on rabies prevention.
- Strengthening vaccination programs and post-exposure prophylaxis is essential to reduce rabies risk.
Background/Purpose:
Rabies is still an important health problem particularly in underdeveloped or developing countries. In this study, the aim was to investigate demographic characteristics and vaccination schedules of cases suspected of having rabies and admitted to the Pediatric Emergency Clinic of our hospital, which serves as one of the Rabies Vaccination Centers in our province.
Methods:
In our study, medical records of 200 patients admitted to the Pediatric Emergency Clinic with suspicion of risk of contact with the rabies virus were retrospectively analyzed.
Results:
Of those 200 cases, rabies risk was found to be greater in the 5-9 year old group. There was a history of having been bitten by dogs in 68.5% of cases, cat scratch in 29.5%, and contact with other animals in 2%. While 76% of animals were stray animals, only 11% of them had an owner and had been vaccinated, and were under supervision. Rabies vaccination only had been administered to 42.5% of admitted patients, tetanus and rabies vaccination to 51.5%, tetanus; rabies vaccination and human rabies immune globulin were administered to 6%. Post-exposure prophylaxis was found to have been given as recommended to 83.5% of cases.
Conclusion:
Rabies remains an important public health problem in developing countries Like ours. We consider that public awareness should be raised; local authorities should devote efforts to control stray animals and supervise such services, and updated guidance and training should be provided to the concerned health staff to reduce the risk of rabies.
