Durban - A five-year-old boy was rushed to hospital in a serious condition after he was bitten by a dog in Glendale, north of Durban, on Wednesday afternoon.
Spokesperson for IPSS, Dylan Meyrick, said the boy was stabilised at the scene by IPSS Medical Rescue advanced life support.
“The patient was then transported to a nearby facility for further care,” he said.
Meyrick said the youngster had been playing outside when he was bitten by the dog.
The dog fled after the attack.
“The security companies in the area are searching for the dog so it can be put down so that the brain can be tested for rabies. Because of the animal’s behaviour, residents in the area suspect it has rabies,” he said.
Meyrick said the hospital treating the youngster will undertake the necessary preventative treatment for rabies in the meantime. He added that it is a long process.
In August, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases reported that cases of rabies had been reported in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality and OR Tambo District Municipality in the Eastern Cape.
“As of August 25, 2022, South Africa reported 10 laboratory-confirmed rabies cases, including five from the Eastern Cape province, Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (n=5); three from Limpopo province, Mopani (n=2) and Vhembe (n=1) districts; and two from KwaZulu-Natal province, eThekwini Municipality (n=1) and iLembe district (n=1),” the NICD said.
IOL