As reported by 20 minutes, this was the news that officials at Reims University Hospital announced on Thursday, October 12. Three days earlier, a woman succumbed to the rabies virus after being infected by a stray cat.
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She had just returned from a trip to North Africa
Champagne FM reported that the woman arrived at the Reims hospital emergency room with another patient. Together, they had just returned from a trip to North Africa. They explained to the doctors that they had been bitten by a wild cat on the spot. Since then, they had been feeling unwell.
Once taken into care, the woman's condition rapidly deteriorated. After tests revealed that she had been infected with rabies, she was transferred to the intensive care unit of the Reims hospital, where she eventually died. At the time of writing, the medical establishment had not said whether the second patient was also contaminated by the virus. However, his prognosis is not life-threatening.
Read more:This woman who was declared dead wakes up 8 hours later during her funeral (VIDEO)
What is rabies?
According to information on the French Ministry of Health website, rabies is a constantly fatal viral disease. It 'affects mammals, particularly dogs, cats, foxes and bats'. The virus can be transmitted to humans. Only one other case was reported in France in 2019, although the virus has been eradicated from the country since 2001.
A man living in a rural area of mainland France who had not travelled to a high-risk zone had died. The French Ministry of Health explained:
The patient was regularly exposed to bats in his home, and the most likely origin of his contamination is transmission of the virus by a bat during a contact that went unnoticed or that the patient did not mention to those around him or to a doctor.
This is the first case of indigenous rabies in mainland France since 1924.
Read more:Woman reveals how she got infectious parasite and bacteria from her pet cats
This article has been translated from Oh!MyMag FR.
Sources used:
20 minutes
Champagne Fm
Ministry of Health
