Post by Sharon Faulkner on May 11, 2006 18:45:03 GMT -5
LOCAL RABIES CASE
May 11, 2006
Infected teen fighting for life
A Humble boy, unknowingly bitten by a bat, battles 'one of the world's most horrible diseases'
By LEIGH HOPPER and JENNIFER LEAHY
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle
An Humble High School sophomore infected with rabies is fighting for his life as federal and county disease investigators try to determine whether any of his classmates or family members may need preventive treatment, school and public health officials said Wednesday.
Zach Jones, apparently bitten by a rabid bat as he slept four weeks ago, is being treated at Texas Children's Hospital with the same combination of drugs credited with saving the life of a 15-year-old Milwaukee girl in 2004, according to an Internet update posted by his family. That patient, Jeanna Giese, is the world's only known unvaccinated rabies survivor.
"It is one of the world's most horrible diseases," said Dr. Rodney Willoughby, a pediatric disease specialist at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, who led Giese's treatment team and who is advising Houston doctors on the latest case. "I really, really hope (Giese's case) is more than a miracle ... and this can happen someplace else, maybe for this child in Texas."
Jones' family could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Harris County health officials said sometime last month the teen awoke from a nap when he felt something brush against him. He found a bat, which apparently had entered through a window, in his bedroom. The bat was captured with a towel and thrown out the window.
The family gave the incident no more thought.
Last week, Jones began exhibiting symptoms and was admitted to Texas Children's Hospital on Thursday. Most people afflicted with rabies begin showing signs of illness one to three months after being infected. Early symptoms include irritability, confusion, headache, fever, hallucinations and itching or pain at the sign of the bite.
Once symptoms appear, the disease, which attacks the nervous system, is nearly always fatal within a week.
"People are really worried about him. He had a lot of friends and there are a lot of people who care about him," said Humble junior Jarod Glover. "It is really crazy to think about what happened. Things like that don't seem real."
News spread on Web
Humble High School sophomore Emily Orum, 16, said students were shocked when they first learned of the popular teen's illness through the social networking Web site MySpace. Orum said friends have held several candlelight vigils at Walden Country Club.
Sports booster club member Sharon Binz said Jones showed no sign of illness at a car wash fundraiser held three weeks ago.
She said many people are monitoring the boy's condition through a Texas Children's Hospital Web site. The site includes updates on his condition and treatment, photos and more than 100 get-well wishes.
Epidemiologists from Harris County Public Health and Environmental Services will be at the high school this morning.
Calling the patient's case — the first in Harris County since 1997 — "a tragedy," Dr. Herminia Palacio, executive director of the county health department, said Jones' illness is an opportunity to educate the public about "an imminently preventable" disease. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also is involved.
Human rabies cases are rare. Theoretically, humans can spread rabies via kissing, sharing drinks or eating utensils, but Palacio said there have been no such documented cases.
Palacio said her department is interviewing a small group of people who may have had close contact with Jones, a football player, but, as of Wednesday, had not recommended rabies vaccination for anyone.
Some people, however, may be pursuing treatment on their own: A school official said Jones' girlfriend is receiving a series of six rabies vaccinations.
On Wednesday, Humble High School principal Raul Font and ninth-grade campus principal Penne Leifer sent a letter home with students stating that the health department and CDC will be talking with students in each of Jones' classes and members of the football team.
"This will determine if there are individuals who have had significant exposure and who may need to be given the rabies vaccination," the letter reads. "Contact through saliva from an infected person or animal by kissing, a bite, open wounds and mucous membranes will be discussed. Other contact by itself, such as touching, does not constitute an exposure and is not an indication for the vaccination."
Wisconsin girl's case
Like Jones, Jeanna Giese, the Milwaukee girl, did not seek medical attention after being bitten by a rabid bat at her church in Fond du Lac, Wis. A month later, she became gravely ill. Her doctors at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin gave her an experimental combination of drugs and vitamins.
Giese pulled through, but spent a year learning to walk and talk again. She now is back at school and headed for college. Scientists still are not sure whether the drugs, the particular strain of rabies that infected her, or some special characteristic of Giese herself is responsible for her recovery.
In most cases, an animal bite is a warning of possible infection with rabies, a disease spread through saliva. However, public health experts place bats in a special category: With teeth like tiny needles, their bites may go unnoticed — as in the case with Jones and Giese.
Health officials consider any physical contact with a bat — or simply waking up in a room with a bat — as a health threat that merits medical attention.
Dawn Blackmar, director of the county health department's veterinary public health division, said she has a rapid response team that goes door to door in neighborhoods where a rabid animal has been found. Blackmar said 30 rabid bats were identified in Harris County last year. So far this year, there have been five. The bat believed to have infected Jones was not found.
www.chron.com/
May 11, 2006
Infected teen fighting for life
A Humble boy, unknowingly bitten by a bat, battles 'one of the world's most horrible diseases'
By LEIGH HOPPER and JENNIFER LEAHY
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle
An Humble High School sophomore infected with rabies is fighting for his life as federal and county disease investigators try to determine whether any of his classmates or family members may need preventive treatment, school and public health officials said Wednesday.
Zach Jones, apparently bitten by a rabid bat as he slept four weeks ago, is being treated at Texas Children's Hospital with the same combination of drugs credited with saving the life of a 15-year-old Milwaukee girl in 2004, according to an Internet update posted by his family. That patient, Jeanna Giese, is the world's only known unvaccinated rabies survivor.
"It is one of the world's most horrible diseases," said Dr. Rodney Willoughby, a pediatric disease specialist at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, who led Giese's treatment team and who is advising Houston doctors on the latest case. "I really, really hope (Giese's case) is more than a miracle ... and this can happen someplace else, maybe for this child in Texas."
Jones' family could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Harris County health officials said sometime last month the teen awoke from a nap when he felt something brush against him. He found a bat, which apparently had entered through a window, in his bedroom. The bat was captured with a towel and thrown out the window.
The family gave the incident no more thought.
Last week, Jones began exhibiting symptoms and was admitted to Texas Children's Hospital on Thursday. Most people afflicted with rabies begin showing signs of illness one to three months after being infected. Early symptoms include irritability, confusion, headache, fever, hallucinations and itching or pain at the sign of the bite.
Once symptoms appear, the disease, which attacks the nervous system, is nearly always fatal within a week.
"People are really worried about him. He had a lot of friends and there are a lot of people who care about him," said Humble junior Jarod Glover. "It is really crazy to think about what happened. Things like that don't seem real."
News spread on Web
Humble High School sophomore Emily Orum, 16, said students were shocked when they first learned of the popular teen's illness through the social networking Web site MySpace. Orum said friends have held several candlelight vigils at Walden Country Club.
Sports booster club member Sharon Binz said Jones showed no sign of illness at a car wash fundraiser held three weeks ago.
She said many people are monitoring the boy's condition through a Texas Children's Hospital Web site. The site includes updates on his condition and treatment, photos and more than 100 get-well wishes.
Epidemiologists from Harris County Public Health and Environmental Services will be at the high school this morning.
Calling the patient's case — the first in Harris County since 1997 — "a tragedy," Dr. Herminia Palacio, executive director of the county health department, said Jones' illness is an opportunity to educate the public about "an imminently preventable" disease. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also is involved.
Human rabies cases are rare. Theoretically, humans can spread rabies via kissing, sharing drinks or eating utensils, but Palacio said there have been no such documented cases.
Palacio said her department is interviewing a small group of people who may have had close contact with Jones, a football player, but, as of Wednesday, had not recommended rabies vaccination for anyone.
Some people, however, may be pursuing treatment on their own: A school official said Jones' girlfriend is receiving a series of six rabies vaccinations.
On Wednesday, Humble High School principal Raul Font and ninth-grade campus principal Penne Leifer sent a letter home with students stating that the health department and CDC will be talking with students in each of Jones' classes and members of the football team.
"This will determine if there are individuals who have had significant exposure and who may need to be given the rabies vaccination," the letter reads. "Contact through saliva from an infected person or animal by kissing, a bite, open wounds and mucous membranes will be discussed. Other contact by itself, such as touching, does not constitute an exposure and is not an indication for the vaccination."
Wisconsin girl's case
Like Jones, Jeanna Giese, the Milwaukee girl, did not seek medical attention after being bitten by a rabid bat at her church in Fond du Lac, Wis. A month later, she became gravely ill. Her doctors at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin gave her an experimental combination of drugs and vitamins.
Giese pulled through, but spent a year learning to walk and talk again. She now is back at school and headed for college. Scientists still are not sure whether the drugs, the particular strain of rabies that infected her, or some special characteristic of Giese herself is responsible for her recovery.
In most cases, an animal bite is a warning of possible infection with rabies, a disease spread through saliva. However, public health experts place bats in a special category: With teeth like tiny needles, their bites may go unnoticed — as in the case with Jones and Giese.
Health officials consider any physical contact with a bat — or simply waking up in a room with a bat — as a health threat that merits medical attention.
Dawn Blackmar, director of the county health department's veterinary public health division, said she has a rapid response team that goes door to door in neighborhoods where a rabid animal has been found. Blackmar said 30 rabid bats were identified in Harris County last year. So far this year, there have been five. The bat believed to have infected Jones was not found.
www.chron.com/