The owner of a restaurant in Vietnam that specializes in the meat of dogs and cats died after contracting rabies from one of the animals he slaughtered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nguyen Van B., 33, from the southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, began exhibiting symptoms three days before his death.\u00a0<\/p>\n
According to local reports, he had only handled cat and dog meat and had not been bitten by an animal, but it\u00a0is possible to get rabies from handling meat from a rabid animal, especially if there are breaks in a person’s skin.<\/p>\n
The main symptoms Mr Van B experienced were fatigue and difficulty breathing.<\/b><\/p>\n
His family took him to the Ho Chi Minh City Hospital for Tropical Diseases where tests confirmed Mr Van B had rabies.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Once symptoms start, rabies is nearly 100 percent fatal and there is no approved treatment for the illness. Knowing this, Mr Van B. requested to return home.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Back home, his condition quickly worsened and he experienced muscle spasms, frothing at the mouth, and confusion.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On December 19, Mr Van B was rushed to\u00a0Ba Ria Hospital and put under continuous sedation until he finally succumbed to the disease.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The owner of a restaurant in Vietnam that specializes in the meat of dogs and cats died after contracting rabies from one of the animals he slaughtered (stock photo)<\/p>\n
Your browser does not support iframes.<\/strong><\/p>\n Eating dog meat is a longstanding tradition in Vietnam, primarily in the north of the country.<\/i><\/u><\/p>\n The sale and consumption of dog and cat meat is legal in Vietnam, despite being illegal in many parts of the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the US, the World Population Review highlights that technically the country ‘lacks a state law banning the consumption of dogs and cats’.\u00a0<\/p>\n However, the statistic and population review site notes that Dog and Cat Meat Trade Prohibition Act proscribed the \u2018transportation, delivery, possession, and slaughter of dogs and cats for human consumption.’<\/p>\n It adds: ‘The act includes an exception for native rituals. Certain Native American tribes have a history or a tradition of eating dogs including the Kickapoo tribe in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas.<\/p>\n ‘In general, dog slaughter is allowed in 44 states of America. The only states that have said no dog meat are California, Georgia, Hawaii, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, and Virginia.’<\/p>\n In Vietnam, dog is a popular dish for special occasions, parties and reunions and is considered to have wide-ranging health benefits, from a man’s virility, to every day protein and energy.<\/p>\n But increasingly, there are animal welfare concerns that there can be serious implications for human health.<\/p>\n The World Health Organization has warned the slaughter and consumption of dogs does pose risks to human health including rabies and cholera,\u00a0an acute diarrheal infection.<\/p>\n A poll commissioned by Humane Society International in September 2023 found 40 percent of the Vietnamese population eat dog meat, while 21 percent eat cat meat.<\/p>\n They found dog meat is most popular among men in northern Vietnam while cat meat dishes are particularly common around Hanoi.<\/p>\n Outrage over the dog trade arises every few years, and polls suggest there is a growing negative sentiment towards it among young Vietnamese people.<\/p>\n Eating dog meat is a longstanding tradition in Vietnam, primarily in the North of the country (stock photo)<\/p>\n More young people have started to support a ban on dog and cat meat and do not believe cat and dog meat is a part of Vietnamese culture.<\/p>\n A recent Humane Society poll found 68 percent of people support a ban on the dog meat trade.<\/b><\/p>\n Rabies, if caught early on the day of infection, can be treated with a vaccine. Treatment typically involves a series of rabies vaccine shots.<\/p>\n The rabies vaccine is given in four doses on days 0, 3, 7, and 14.<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n But if the virus is able to take hold, it has a near-100 percent death rate.<\/u><\/b><\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n EXCLUSIVE<\/p>\n I ate nothing but red meat for a year… here’s why the health experts are so wrong<\/b><\/p>\n The virus enters the body through an open wound, usually from an infected animal’s bite or scratch.\u00a0<\/p>\n It then replicates in muscle cells near the infection site, then travels along nerves to the central nervous system.<\/p>\n Once the virus reaches the brain, it binds to nerve cells where it can replicate uncontrollably and rapidly, erupting in a constellation of symptoms starting with<\/p>\n As the infection advances, it leads to respiratory spasms that cause gasping, wheezing, and tightness in the chest.<\/p>\n This process can take anywhere from a week to a month. But as the disease worsens, paralysis sets in, starting with the limbs, then the brain and other organs.<\/p>\n The infection almost always results in coma and death within a few weeks after the onset if a vaccine is not administered promptly.<\/p>\n Rabies kills around 70,000 people worldwide every year, though most deaths are concentrated in countries with inadequate public health resources, such as wide-reaching vaccination programs for people and animals.<\/p>\n In the US, fewer than 10 cases of rabies occur each year in humans.<\/b><\/p>\n The vaccine can be given after a person is exposed and is 100 percent effective if administered within 48 hours of exposure and before symptoms appear.<\/p>\n Worldwide, dogs are the leading carriers of rabies. In the US,\u00a039 states require rabies vaccination for dogs.<\/p>\n But in the US, around 70 percent of rabies infections arise from exposure to bats.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n KansasNew JerseyOklahomaTexasMichigan<\/p>\n