The owner of a restaurant in Vietnam that specializes in the meat of dogs and cats died after contracting rabies from one of the animals he slaughtered.
Nguyen Van B., 33, from the southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, began exhibiting 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 a person’s skin.
The main symptoms Mr Van B experienced were fatigue and difficulty breathing.
His family took him to the Ho Chi Minh City Hospital for Tropical Diseases where tests confirmed Mr Van B had rabies.
Once symptoms start, rabies is nearly 100 percent fatal and there is no approved treatment for the illness. Knowing this, Mr Van B. requested to return home.
Back home, his condition quickly worsened and he experienced muscle spasms, frothing at the mouth, and confusion.
On December 19, Mr Van B was rushed to Ba Ria Hospital and put under continuous sedation until he finally succumbed to the disease.
The owner of a restaurant in Vietnam that specializes in the meat of dogs and cats died after contracting rabies from one of the animals he slaughtered (stock photo)
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Eating dog meat is a longstanding tradition in Vietnam, primarily 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 World Population Review highlights that technically the country ‘lacks a state law banning the consumption of dogs and cats’.
However, the statistic and population review site notes that Dog and Cat Meat Trade Prohibition Act proscribed the ‘transportation, delivery, possession, and slaughter of dogs and cats for human consumption.’
It adds: ‘The act includes an exception for native rituals. Certain Native American tribes have a history or a tradition of eating dogs including the Kickapoo tribe in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas.
‘In general, dog slaughter is allowed in 44 states of America. The only states that have said no 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 and is considered to have wide-ranging health benefits, from a man’s virility, to every day protein and energy.
But increasingly, there are animal welfare concerns that there can be serious implications for human health.
The World Health Organization has warned the slaughter and consumption of dogs does pose risks to human health including rabies and cholera, an acute diarrheal infection.
A poll commissioned by Humane Society International in September 2023 found 40 percent of the Vietnamese population eat dog meat, while 21 percent eat cat meat.
They found dog meat is most popular among men in northern Vietnam while cat meat dishes are particularly common around Hanoi.
Outrage over the dog trade arises every few years, and polls suggest there is a growing negative sentiment towards it among young Vietnamese people.
Eating dog meat is a longstanding tradition in Vietnam, primarily in the North of the country (stock photo)
More young people have started to support a ban on dog and cat meat and do not believe cat and dog meat is a part of Vietnamese culture.
A recent Humane Society poll found 68 percent of people support a ban on the dog meat trade.
Rabies, if caught early on the day of infection, can be treated with a vaccine. Treatment typically involves a series of rabies vaccine shots.
The rabies vaccine is given in four doses on days 0, 3, 7, and 14.
But if the virus is able to take hold, it has a near-100 percent death rate.
The virus enters the body through an open wound, usually from an infected animal’s bite or scratch.
It then replicates in muscle cells near the infection site, then travels along nerves to the central nervous system.
Once the virus reaches the brain, it binds to nerve cells where it can replicate uncontrollably and rapidly, erupting in a constellation of symptoms starting with
As the infection advances, 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 sets in, starting with the limbs, then the brain and other organs.
The infection almost always results in coma and death within a few weeks after the onset if a vaccine is not administered promptly.
Rabies kills around 70,000 people worldwide every year, though most deaths are concentrated in countries with inadequate public health resources, such as wide-reaching vaccination programs for people and animals.
In the US, fewer than 10 cases of rabies occur each year in humans.
The vaccine can be given after a person is exposed and is 100 percent effective if administered within 48 hours of exposure and before symptoms appear.
Worldwide, dogs are the leading carriers of rabies. In the US, 39 states require rabies vaccination for dogs.
But in the US, around 70 percent of rabies infections arise from exposure to bats.
