On April 5, 2017, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC) announced this year’s first human case of rabid animal bite in Taiwan. The case is a female who resides in eastern Taiwan. In the evening of March 27, she noticed that a ferret-badger broke into her home. When she was feeding the ferret-badger, her eye accidentally got splashed by the animal’s saliva. On the following day, she received the first dose of rabies vaccine when she sought medical attention. Specimens of the ferret-badger were submitted to the Animal Research Institute of the Council of Agriculture for laboratory testing. On March 29, infection with rabies was confirmed in the ferret-badger. As of now, the case is not experiencing other symptoms. The local health authority has assisted the victim in completing the administration of human rabies immune globulin (HRIG) and the first 3 doses of rabies vaccine and will continue to follow up on the case.

According to the surveillance data compiled by the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine of the Council of Agriculture, thus far this year, a total of 15 rabies cases have been confirmed and all of them are found in ferret-badgers. They are respectively detected in Hualien County, Nantou County, Kaohsiung City, Chiayi County, Tainan City and Taitung County. On the other hand, so far, no human cases of rabies have been confirmed in Taiwan this year. Since 2002, a cumulative total of 3 human cases of rabies have been confirmed in Taiwan and all of them are imported cases, including 1 case from China in 2002, 1 case from China in 2012, and 1 case from the Philippines in 2013. All 3 cases died.

Rabies is an acute viral encephalomyelitis caused by the rabies virus. Once symptoms of the disease develop, rabies is almost 100% fatal in humans if left untreated. Humans are infected through the bite of rabid animals. The incubation period is 1 to 3 months. The early symptoms include fever, sore throat, chills, loss of appetite, vomiting, breathing difficulty, coughing, headache, and sensory changes at the bite site. The disease then progresses to excitability, fear, numbness, swallowing difficulty, throat spasms, hydrophobia, delirium and convulsion; death is often due to respiratory paralysis.　　

Taiwan CDC once again reminds the public to not touch, hunt, capture, feed and keep wild animals, including bats, as well as not abandon their pets and ensure their pets are properly vaccinated in a timely manner. When bitten or scratched by animals, please remember to take the following 4 steps: 1.Remember: Try to remain calm and remember the characteristics of the biting animal; 2. Wash: Immediately wash the wound with soap and an ample amount of clean water for 15 minutes and then disinfect the wound with iodine or 70% alcohol; 3. Seek: Seek prompt medical attention for proper evaluation and treatment at healthcare facilities/public health centers that offer post-exposure rabies vaccination to reduce the risk of infection; and 4. Observe: Try to detain the biting animal for a 10-day observation if possible. However, do not risk capturing the animal if it gets violent. In addition, when necessary, please remember to complete the full course of post-exposure rabies vaccination that consists of five doses of the vaccine given on days 0, 3, 7, 14, and 28 to reduce the risk of developing the disease. For more information on rabies prevention, please visit the Taiwan CDC’s website at http://www.cdc.gov.tw or call the toll-free Communicable Disease Reporting and Care Hotline, 1922 (or 0800-001922).