Worker 'infected with rabies outside UAE'

Dubai: A worker being treated with rabies was infected with the virus before coming to the UAE from India, officials said.

Health officials told Gulf News all steps have been taken to minimise transmission of the infectious disease - transmitted through body fluids from animals to humans - usually via bites. Human to human transmission is extremely rare, occurring through organ transplants and bites.

Humaid Al Qutami, Minister of Health, said the man was sent to Al Baraha Hospital for treatment once his case was detected.

"He got it before coming to the UAE," he added.

The cause of the infection is undetermined. He may have been bitten by a rabid dog, which is the main cause of rabid infections and deaths worldwide.

Ali Al Marzouqi, director of public health at Department of Health and Medical Services (Dohms), told Gulf News there was no way to detect the man's infection before he started showing symptoms.

"We don't test people for rabies when they come into the country (as part of the residency and labour test)," he said.

"(Rabies) transmission to humans is limited and its incidence is very low," he added.

He said the man's contacts at his accommodation flat have been questioned but not vaccinated. They are under observation, however, in case they developed symptoms, which health officials think is unlikely.

"We have vaccines but we didn't think it was urgent to vaccinate them. We'd only vaccinate if they have been exposed (bitten) but they haven't," Al Marzouqi said.

The rabies incubation period varies, depending on the time it takes for the virus to reach the central nervous system. The virus is almost always fatal in patients once they develop symptoms.

According to the Atlanta-based Centres for Disease Control (CDC), rabid dogs, usually strays, cause more than 90 per cent of rabies infections and deaths globally. Public health policies usually require pets to be vaccinated against the disease.