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Transmission of rabies continues in Vietnam. According to media (in Vietnamese) a woman died of rabies in Binh Thuan in late December 2022. This was the third death from rabies in Binh Thuan in 2022.
The patient had been bitten by a dog three months before falling ill and had received no medical treatment after being bitten.
The Vietnamese Ministry of Health (in Vietnamese) reports an average of 76 people a year died of rabies in Vietnam from 2017 to 2021.
Rabies is a fatal but preventable disease of the central nervous system caused by the rabies virus. People are infected when saliva from an infected mammal comes into direct contact with broken skin or mucous membranes (eyes, nose or mouth), usually from a bite, scratch, or lick.
Rabies is invariably fatal once symptoms develop. Only a small number of people with the disease are known to have survived.
All travellers should be:
Children are more vulnerable to rabies than adults, as they are less likely to understand the risk of interacting with animals, less able to defend themselves from an animal attack and may not report a potential exposure.
All travellers to endemic areas should be aware to carry out immediate wound care and seek medical attention immediately following potential exposure.
Effective rabies vaccines are available and prevent clinical rabies from developing. They can be used pre- and post-exposure.
See the TRAVAX Rabies and Rabies post-exposure guidance pages for further information.
