SHENZHEN has reported zero locally transmitted rabies cases since 2008. The city has reported a few imported rabies cases in recent years, with one last year, said an expert from the Shenzhen Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Tuesday marked the World Rabies Day, a global health observance day which started in 2007 to raise awareness about rabies prevention.

Ye Zhaojia, an immunization expert with the Shenzhen CDC, said that the most effective and economical way to prevent rabies is to immunize cats, dogs and other animals against the rabies virus.

“Shenzhen has provided free rabies vaccine for pets for 20 consecutive years, which has well controlled the source of infection. We hope to eliminate rabies in the city as soon as possible through cooperation with multiple departments,” Ye told Shenzhen Special Zone Daily.

According to the Daily, a vast majority of rabies cases in China are infected by dog bites and scratches. The risk of rabies transmission is high if a person is injured by domestic or stray dogs, cats, bats, and stray or wild carnivorous mammals.

“Why should we take rabies seriously? Because there is almost no chance of cure when the symptoms begin, and the mortality rate is almost 100 percent,” said Fan Zhao, chief physician of the emergency department of Peking University Shenzhen Hospital.

In the past, there were some 20 cases of pet bites per day; but with more families raising pets in recent years, the number of patients bitten by pets has remained high, with an average of more than 30 cases per day, according to Fan.

Fan said that when bitten by a cat or dog, one should rinse the wound with flowing and pressurized water for at least 15 minutes immediately to wash away the pet’s saliva that may contain virus, and then go to the hospital with a dog injury clinic as soon as possible.

Statistics show that Shenzhen currently has 44 dog injury clinics, which received 150,000 to 180,000 patients every year since 2018. Last year, the number of patients was 159,606, 80 percent of which were under 40 years old.

(Zhang Yu)