The owner of a restaurant in Vietnam specializing in dog and cat meat died after contracting rabies from one of the animals he slaughtered.
Nguyen Van B., 33, from the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, started showing symptoms three days before his death.
According to local reports, he had only handled cat and dog meat and had not been bitten by an animal, but it is possible to get rabies from handling meat from a rabid animal, especially if there are breaks in the skin of one person.
The main symptoms Mr Van B experienced were fatigue and breathing difficulties.
His family took him to the Ho Chi Minh City Tropical Disease Hospital, where tests confirmed that Mr Van B had rabies.
Once symptoms begin, rabies is almost 100 percent fatal and there is no approved treatment for the disease. Knowing this, Mr. Van B. requested to return home.
At home his condition rapidly deteriorated and he developed muscle spasms, foaming at the mouth and confusion.
On December 19, Mr Van B was rushed to Ba Ria Hospital and put under continuous anesthesia until he finally succumbed to the disease.
The owner of a restaurant in Vietnam specializing in dog and cat meat died after contracting rabies from one of the animals he slaughtered (stock photo)
Eating dog meat is a long-standing tradition in Vietnam, especially in the north of the country.
The sale and consumption of dog and cat meat is legal in Vietnam, despite being illegal in many parts of the world.
In the US the Overview of the world population emphasizes that the country technically “does not have a state law prohibiting the consumption of dogs and cats.”
However, the statistics and population overview site notes that the Dog and Cat Meat Trade Ban Act prohibited the “transport, supply, possession and slaughter of dogs and cats for human consumption.”
It adds: ‘The law contains an exception for indigenous rituals. Certain Native American tribes have a history or tradition of eating dogs, including the Kickapoo tribe of Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas.
“Generally speaking, dog slaughter is allowed in 44 states of America. The only states that have banned dog meat are California, Georgia, Hawaii, Michigan, New Jersey, New York and Virginia.”
In Vietnam, dog is a popular dish for special occasions, parties and reunions. It is believed to provide a wide range of health benefits, from boosting man’s virility to daily protein and energy.
But there are growing concerns about animal welfare, which could have serious consequences for human health.
The World Health Organization has warned that the slaughter and consumption of dogs poses risks to human health, including rabies and cholera, an acute diarrheal infection.
A poll commissioned by Humane Society International in September 2023 found that 40 percent of the Vietnamese population eat dog meat, while 21 percent eat cat meat.
They found that dog meat is most popular among men in northern Vietnam, while cat meat dishes are particularly common around Hanoi.
Every few years, outrage arises over the dog trade, and polls show growing negative sentiment towards the trade among young Vietnamese people.
Eating dog meat is a long tradition in Vietnam, especially in the north of the country (stock photo)
More and more young people have come to support a ban on dog and cat meat and do not believe that cat and dog meat are part of Vietnamese culture.
A recent Humane Society poll found that 68 percent of people support a ban on the dog meat trade.
If rabies is caught early on the day of infection, it can be treated with a vaccine. Treatment usually involves a series of rabies vaccinations.
The rabies vaccine is given in four doses on days 0, 3, 7 and 14.
But if the virus can persist, it has a mortality rate of almost 100 percent.
The virus enters the body through an open wound, usually through the bite or scratch of an infected animal.
It then replicates in muscle cells near the site of infection and then travels along the nerves to the central nervous system.
Once the virus reaches the brain, it attaches to nerve cells where it can multiply uncontrollably and rapidly, erupting in a constellation of symptoms, starting with
As the infection progresses, it leads to respiratory spasms that cause gasping, wheezing, and tightness in the chest.
This process can take anywhere from a week to a month. But as the disease worsens, paralysis occurs, starting with the limbs, then the brain and other organs.
The infection almost always results in coma and death within weeks of onset if a vaccine is not administered quickly.
Rabies kills about 70,000 people worldwide every year, although most deaths are concentrated in countries with inadequate public health resources, such as far-reaching human and animal vaccination programs.
Fewer than ten cases of rabies occur in humans each year in the US.
The vaccine can be given after a person has been exposed and is 100 percent effective if given within 48 hours of exposure and before symptoms appear.
Dogs are the main carriers of rabies worldwide. In the US, 39 states require rabies vaccination for dogs.
But in the U.S., about 70 percent of rabies infections are caused by exposure to bats.