Vietnamese teen boy dies of suspected rabies after multiple dog bites

The victim, Y.R.N., from Ea Khal Commune, passed away from symptoms consistent with rabies.

This marks the province’s sixth suspected rabies death since early 2025.

On Thursday last week, the boy developed symptoms including fever, fatigue, headache, fear of water, and fear of wind.

After initial home treatment with fever-reducing medications failed, he was taken to the Central Highlands General Hospital, where doctors suspected viral encephalitis and rabies.

His family later transferred him to the Ho Chi Minh City Hospital for Tropical Diseases.

By 10:30 pm last Saturday, after the boy began exhibiting convulsions associated with rabies, his family requested to take him home.

He died at 11:00 pm the same night en route back to Dak Lak.

According to family members, around ten days before hospitalization, the boy had been bitten by a stray dog. 

They could not identify which animal or the specific bite location.

A dog believed to be the one responsible was found dead roughly 50 meters from the family’s home.

Dak Lak CDC has since launched an epidemiological investigation, working with local veterinary and health authorities to handle the potential outbreak.

Health workers have also provided counseling and raised rabies prevention awareness among neighbors.

Family members revealed the boy had been scratched by the family dog two months earlier but was not vaccinated.

That dog remains alive.

Around two years ago, he had been bitten in the neck by another dog, which was later slaughtered, but no vaccination was administered then either.

Health experts warned that rabies risk increases between May and August, particularly in domestic pets like dogs and cats, due to favorable conditions for viral transmission.

The rabies virus can incubate for days to months, or even up to a year, and is nearly always fatal without timely post-exposure prophylaxis.

Animal bite victims should thoroughly wash wounds with soap and water for at least 15 minutes, disinfect them with alcohol or iodine-based solutions, and seek urgent care for rabies vaccination.