A Rabies Diagnosis and a Race Against the Clock to Save Lives
The five children that FAME successfully treated for rabies.
It was mid-March when an 11-year-old Maasai boy was brought to FAME. He came from a local clinic 45 miles away, after displaying symptoms of extreme fear of water, excessive saliva flow, respiratory difficulties, biting and aggression. The doctor at the local clinic asked his family if he had been bitten by a dog. The answer was yes, but did not seem relevant as that was over two weeks ago. The doctor knew right away, “he has rabies. You have to take him to FAME now.”
Two weeks earlier, Leboo* and his three male cousins were herding cows two miles from their home. On this particular day, a strange dog appeared out of nowhere and started chasing the cows. Leboo, being the oldest, ran towards the dog to scare it away from the animals. That's when it bit him. His cousins became involved in the scuffle as well. Two suffered minor bite marks and the other got a few scratches. The dog escaped.
It wasn't until two weeks later that Leboo became violently sick. He was rushed to the local clinic, where the doctor diagnosed him with rabies and urgently referred him to FAME for a rabies post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) vaccine. Unfortunately, Leboo passed away an hour after arriving at FAME. His condition had become fatal once the symptoms began.
Volunteer Dr. Shama Cash-Goldwasser (center) is pictured with FAME's social worker, Nganana Kitashu (far left), during their trip to the village to find rabies-infected persons.
“Thank you to FAME and God. I believe FAME and God worked together to save our children. If you had not come for the children, we had no way of bringing them this far to the hospital.”
- Youngest boy's mom
"I am a single mom and I had no money to see a doctor. Thank you FAME for caring about us. Our village is quite far and secluded, and sometimes we think everyone has forgotten us. But not FAME.”
- Girl’s mom
“I was in shock. I was sad. I was confused. When they told me the boy had died, I just stood there. I didn’t want to cry, because I had to call his mother in the village and tell her. A few years ago, I was the one who had to tell her that her husband, my brother, had died. And now I had to be the one to tell her that her oldest child was dead.”
Leboo’s uncle had mentioned that there were other boys bitten by the same dog, but that they were fine. The medical staff at FAME knew it was only a matter of time before Leboo’s cousins began showing symptoms too. FAME’s social workers, together with volunteer Dr. Shama Cash-Goldwasser, drove to the local village to find the kids. They asked the parents if they could bring the kids to FAME, as they believed that the boys had been exposed to rabies as well. As they prepared to leave and bring the children to FAME, a neighbor ran up to the team and said that there were two young children from a different homestead who also had been bitten by a dog.
“We ran to the homestead. We found a 3-year-old boy and a 4-year-old girl; their mothers confirmed that they had been bitten by a strange dog, but since it was not a big bite, they didn't think it was serious. We informed them it was urgent that we take the kids with us to FAME, and that it was a matter of life and death.” - FAME’s social worker, Nganana Kitashu
Once at FAME, the five kids were admitted to the inpatient ward where they received free rabies vaccines and were monitored for rabies symptoms. After three days, they were safe to return home.
Rabies, locally known in Tanzania as kichaa cha umbwa (madness of dogs), is a deadly virus that spreads to people from the saliva of infected animals, usually transmitted through a bite. While canine rabies is almost entirely eliminated in many parts of the world. The United States reports between one and three cases of rabies annually. In 2021, there were five rabies deaths recorded, all occurring from bat bites, and the highest number in centuries (CDC). This is not the case for Tanzania. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), rabies is responsible for an estimated 1,500 deaths per year in Tanzania. This is especially common in rural areas, where there is often limited rabies vaccines available and poverty and access to health services present barriers to treatment.
Local dog ownership in Tanzania is limited and most dogs are roaming free. The Tanzanian government is finalizing a national rabies control strategy, which will involve a nationwide dog vaccination campaign, with the aim to eliminate canine rabies by 2030.
Rabies is a preventable disease when treatment is administered in time, but in those cases where an infected person begins exhibiting symptoms, it is nearly always fatal (CDC). For rural communities in Tanzania, rabies is particularly devastating as treatment is limited and often far away. FAME is proud of its teams’ rapid response and dedication to ensuring that life-saving rabies treatment is available to people living in the most rural parts of its catchment area.
“I want to thank FAME and everyone here. As a village, we are very grateful. We might have lost one son, but you have saved five of our children. Thank you for the quick intervention and for the free medication and transport to your hospital. Mostly, we are thankful for the education we have received about rabies. Now we know what it is and what to look out for. Next time, we will be ready!"
- Leboo’s uncle, pictured with FAME's Social Worker Kitashu (in black shirt), the mamas, and the children during their visit to FAME
*While the patients’ name has been changed to protect privacy, permission was secured to share their photos and story with FAME supporters, and to raise awareness of available medical care at FAME Medical.