Rare Death from a Wild Cat Scratch: The Tragic Case of Rabies in France

2023-10-14 07:45:00

A woman was admitted to hospital following being scratched by a wild cat. The Frenchwoman died of rabies two days later.

A woman died of rabies despite rapid treatment. Thursday October 12, 2023, the Reims University Hospital (Marne) announced the death of a patient suffering from rabies, admitted on October 7 and died 2 days later. Accompanied by a man, the French woman had presented herself at the hospital the previous Saturday.

Injured by a cat

Both had been injured by a cat a few weeks earlier in a Maghreb country. Immediately, the healthcare staff identified the symptoms of rabies and treated him appropriately, hospitalizing him in intensive care. She unfortunately succumbed to the illness two days later. The man, who was asymptomatic, was administered a post-exposure prophylactic vaccination and placed under surveillance.

An extremely rare case of death due to the rabies virus was confirmed this Thursday, October 12 by the Pasteur Institute. A woman contracted rabies following a scratch from a cat during a stay in a Maghreb countryhttps://t.co/T9JmTzO5qQ

— Le Parisien (@le_Parisien) October 12, 2023

The National Rabies Reference Center (CNRR), under the control of the Pasteur Institute, is the only one authorized to make the diagnosis of rabies, confirmed the diagnosis on Wednesday October 11, 2023.

Very rare case of rabies in France

Before that, no case had been observed since 1924. And in animals, “France has been free of rabies in non-flying terrestrial mammals since 2001”, underlines the Pasteur Institute. The flying mammals being bats.

In France, three situations are considered at risk:

Bites, scratches and other contact with saliva on wounds or mucous membranes in a country where rabies circulates in dogs or wildlife (Guyana included); contacts with bats, all over the world, particularly in mainland France; bites, scratches and contact with wounds or mucous membranes with an animal that has traveled illegally outside the European Union in anti-rabies vaccination.


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