Cases of Rage in Suchitepequez

Cases of Rage in Suchitepequez

By Wally Santos

Employees of the Center of Health of Mazatenango, informed unofficially, that the sanitary authorities are alarmed before the bud of the virus of Rage that it has been attacking the mascots of the region, mainly to the dogs. The worrying of this bud, is that in the whole region it is not listened of any vaccination campaign for mascots. In fact, it is known that several people have already been attacked by these sick animals and they are already receiving treatment.

According to the information of the employees of Health, the procedure that is continued when verifying the abnormality of the animal, is to sacrifice, it intersects the head and it is sent to the capital of Guatemala for analysis. Of 14 cases of suspicious animals of being contaminated by the virus, 10 cases have been positive. The affected regions are Santo Domingo and San Pablo.

When asking why is not carried out a popularization campaign to the population so that it vaccinates their mascots, the answer was that, the Ministry of Health (in the Capital) reduced the budget in this year and there are not funds to make preventive publicity. Also, it is worrying the proliferation of street dogs that stroll for the towns.

According to the specialists, the rage is an infectious viral sharp illness of the central system nervous caused by a RHABDOVIRUS that causes sharp encephalitis. The virus of the rage is diffused in the whole planet and it attacks the domestic and wild mammals, including the man. It is in the saliva and in the secretions of the infected animals and it is inoculated the man when these attack it and they provoke in him some lesion for bite; it can also contaminate when an individual that has some cut in the skin (via of entrance of the virus) has contact with the salivary secretions of an infected animal. The animal important vectors include: dogs, cats, bats, mongooses, foxes, ferrets, raccoons, and wolves.

The transmission is only possible by the direct contact with a vectorial carrier or with biological material coming from the same one, since to be a virus with a wrapped up lipids it is very sensitive to the environmental factors.

This illness, if it doesn't talk to the maximum urgency, it finishes provoking the sick person's death. When a person is contagious, the symptoms of the illness can take between 60 and 300 days in showing.