CondomKing Posted August 8, 2008 Report Share Posted August 8, 2008 Just posting out of curiosity to see if anyone has better/more information than is described here. Link My wife has just told me that her cousin, a 47 yr. old man, was bitten in the rice field 3 days ago and died yesterday. She said that he was too stingy to go to the more expensive private hospital in town and instead went to the free hospital where the doctor (?) told him that he'd be fine in a couple of days! The last time she saw him he was drinking with his pals, with a swollen arm, laughing about being bitten. Now she and her mom are getting ready to go to his funeral. The articles I've read on the Internet cite a 13% fatality rate and I'd think that this guy was just unlucky except that the same thing happened to another uncle just a few years ago. Healthy 40 year old one day and dead of a rat bite 2 days later. Does anyone know if the local rat bite can be treated with antibiotics, penicillin? Just a shame that anyone should die from ignorance or being so cheap as to not realize the urgent need to pay for effective medicine. The wife says that fatal rat bites are not uncommon for those who work in the rice fields. Sounds like more than 13%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangkoktraveler Posted August 8, 2008 Report Share Posted August 8, 2008 I would think the bite is different then the "disease" the rat is carrying. The hospital should have checked if the wound got contaminated after the bite and should have done something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unit731 Posted August 8, 2008 Report Share Posted August 8, 2008 What exactly did he die of? There could be rabies. There could have been an infection. Not to be funny, but there are more rats out there than one thinks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lazyphil Posted August 8, 2008 Report Share Posted August 8, 2008 what about weils disease?....although thats transmited in water via rats urine but maybe through a bite and i've heard is fatal. i've had my hand in the water here with a bleeding hand after carelesslygetting my hand shredded open by a pikes teeth on unhooking.....was a bit paranoid for a day or two after the event... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangkoktraveler Posted August 8, 2008 Report Share Posted August 8, 2008 What is alarming is some Thais eat rats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian2 Posted August 9, 2008 Report Share Posted August 9, 2008 I'd be more inclined to say it's blood poisoning which can act a lot more quickly than many diseases which usually take a while to incubate. Any animal bite, or human for that matter, should be considered potentially dangerous and treated accordingly. Well washed in clean water and antibacterial solution with an immediate visit to the doctor if any inflammation appears. I'm not sure that the edibility of the attacking beast is relevant, I'm personally extremely partial to shark, a beasty which has been known dish out a nip or two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khunsanuk Posted August 9, 2008 Report Share Posted August 9, 2008 Hi, It's possibly Leptospirosis. Sanuk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTO Posted August 9, 2008 Report Share Posted August 9, 2008 Sounds like Leptospirosis - I know 2 members currently with family in hospital with this - I also remember a story about this about a year ago Awfuk disease Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dddave Posted August 9, 2008 Report Share Posted August 9, 2008 A number of years ago, I was waiting my turn at an Urgent Care Unit. A man came in with one of his hands puffed up, it looked like a rubber glove blown up to three times its' normal size. They sent him directly in to the Doctors treatment room. Later, when my turn came up, I asked the Dr. what had happened: "Cat bite", he explained and went on to tell me that the needle sharp cats teeth create a wound that self-seals, trapping the bacteria inside and that the bacteria can multiply at an extraordinary rate: the fellows cat bite was less than four hours old. I would not be surprised if a rat bite was similar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomc12 Posted August 9, 2008 Report Share Posted August 9, 2008 Rat Bite Fever occurs in about 10% of rat bites and has a fatality rate of about 10%. Treatment is with penicillin or tetracycline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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