Social media users have circulated a harrowing video of a stray dog attacking an 8-year-old girl in the city of Dezful, Iran, resulting in the girl's death due to rabies. The incident occurred last Tuesday, where surveillance cameras in the area captured the dog attacking the girl multiple times while she attempted to escape.
On Tuesday, the health official from Dezful University of Medical Sciences announced the death of another child, a 6-year-old boy from Dezful, due to bites on his head, face, and various parts of his body from a rabid dog. According to Iranian media, stray dogs in the streets have become a major problem in the country. Experts believe that vaccination, sterilization, and withholding food from stray dogs are effective means to reduce their numbers and decrease the burden of rabies.
However, the poor performance of responsible authorities, including municipalities, has led to many victims, including children, suffering attacks from stray dogs that transmit various diseases, including the deadly rabies. Rabies is a deadly virus transmitted to humans through the saliva of infected animals, typically through bites. Animals that are highly likely to transmit rabies include bats, coyotes, foxes, raccoons, skunks, and stray dogs.
Once symptoms of rabies appear in a person, almost all cases end in death. For this reason, anyone who may be at risk of rabies exposure should receive rabies vaccinations as a preventive measure.
