Survival of a rabies patient.

A 13-year old girl was bitten by a dog two years ago, grade II bite on right leg. The same dog had also bitten 3 cattle and 2 other persons, subsequently the dog was killed. All the 3 cattle died and 2 other persons received post-exposure prophylaxis and did not have any problems afterwards. However, our patient did not receive any post-exposure prophylaxis and there was no history of receiving rabies vaccine any time in past. The patient was admitted in the Pediatrics ward of our hospital, 2 years after the bite, with the complaints of bodyache, inability to drink and hydrophobia. The patient was a febrile and had stable cardiopulmonary status. She was also experiencing pain in the healed scar at the site of bite. The patient was anxious and apprehensive but alert, with tone and power of muscle being normal, the deep tendon reflexes were brisk. There was no evidence of cranial nerve palsy, focal neurological deficit or signs of meningeal irritation.