World Rabies Day: Where Are They Now?
Three of the five children that FAME successfully treated for rabies.
On this World Rabies Day 2022, FAME revisits and remembers one of our most powerful stories from this year, “A Rabies Diagnosis and a Race Against the Clock to Save Lives.”
This story, published in FAME’s journal in April 2022, was about six children who had been bitten and scratched by a stray dog while herding cows.
As they were tiny bites and scratches, the boys thought nothing of the attack. Two weeks later, one became seriously sick and was rushed to the local clinic. The doctor diagnosed him with rabies and referred him to FAME for a rabies post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) vaccine. Unfortunately, he passed away an hour after arriving at FAME. His condition had become fatal once the symptoms began. FAME quickly reached out to the other children in the village. As time was of utmost importance, volunteer Dr. Shama Cash-Goldwasser and FAME's social worker, Nganana Kitashu, spearheaded a trip to their village, ensuring that the children received the PEP vaccine, thus saving their lives.
At FAME, we always have a story to tell. This one was extraordinary and resonated with many of our FAME family members. So today, on World Rabies Day, we followed up with the affected children to see how they were doing.
It is a cold morning at the FAME campus in Karatu when the children show up for a wellness checkup. It is an offer that FAME had given them after the rabies incident; they were free to come back and receive free healthcare any time they wanted. Today, they took us up on our offer, traveling 50 miles to get here.
Sitting at FAME’s Outpatient Department (OPD), the children look happy and animated. They are here with their mother and a ten-month-old small sister. They whisper amongst themselves and giggle, sharing an inside joke. The mother assures us that nothing is wrong with the children. They have been doing okay and are back in school and herding cows, but she thought it was time to bring them for a check-up.
“It’s a serious disease they had. Rabies is very serious. I worry that it may have caused some damage that we cannot see.”
Dr. Ken Karanja and volunteer Dr. Elissa Zirinsky meet one of the boys.
FAME’s Dr. Ken Karanja and volunteer Dr. Elissa Zirinsky, a pediatric infectious disease doctor, are ready to see the children. We are lucky to have Dr. Elissa, who just started a year-long fellowship with FAME, to help build our pediatric capacity. Since Dr. Elissa was not at FAME when the boys got rabies, Dr. Ken has brought her up to speed.
The boys, aged ten, nine and eight, enter one by one, accompanied by their mother to see the doctors. The boys are not intimidated; if anything, they’re eager to show the doctors the scars from the dog attack, more like a badge of honor.
“When we went back to school after the attack, we were very popular! Everyone came to talk to us. They wanted to see where the dog had bit us. They told us they were sorry that our brother had died but were happy we were still alive. We told them always to stay away from stray dogs! ”
Not only have the boys gone back to school, but they’re also herding cows in their free time. The oldest boy explains that they are now scared of stray dogs and if they see any approaching them, they run away screaming and calling for help. They dare not fight or try to touch it as they did before.
“We are cautious of the dogs, NOT scared!”
The mother explains that it has been a hard time coming to terms with the death of their son, but they have taken solace in the fact that they will not lose another child to rabies.
“We may have lost a son, but we wake up every morning knowing our children will not die as he did. FAME has educated us, and we now know timely intervention is key, and we advise the children always to run away from stray dogs!”
Dr. Ken and Dr. Elissa examining the youngest boy, who turned out to have pneumonia, unrelated to his previous rabies diagnosis.
The youngest boy shows the doctors where the dog bit him.
The oldest boy showing the dog marks on his arm.
Dr. Ken and Dr. Elissa find the children in good health; however, the eight-year-old has a congested chest unrelated to his past rabies case. After sending him for some lab tests and X-rays, the boy was diagnosed with pneumonia and given antibiotics. All three boys were prescribed deworming medicine.
“We continue to be indebted to FAME. Even after the rabies case, they continue to check on us and ensure the kids remain healthy. We feel very blessed.” - The mother
The mother assures us that she will return to FAME with the children if they have any health problems.
“FAME is quite far from where we live, so it's not an easy journey. But for some crazy reason, the children love the trip! I don't understand it. Sometimes the bus is overcrowded and dusty, but the boys treat it like a safari, looking out for exciting things on the way!” - The mother.
“We are happy we came. We love this place. It's nice to come when we are not sick because then we just have a lot of fun!” - The youngest boy.
This inspiring story is a testament to the impact of FAME’s unique model of advancing quality medical care in rural Tanzania, which we first developed 20 years ago.
Following the theme of World Rabies Day, “One Health, Zero Deaths,” FAME continues to advocate and participate in efforts to eliminate dog-mediated rabies in northern Tanzania.
Next month, the team at Resolve to Save Lives (RTSL) will have an event on rabies in Tanzania, where FAME’s response to this rabies case will be highlighted in their annual report called Epidemics that Didn’t Happen (ETDH). We couldn't be more proud to showcase this project and demonstrate how dedicated collaborative public health action can successfully prevent epidemics.
*While the patients’ names have 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.