Bites from the same dog, different outcomes for two patients: a case report

BACKGROUND: Rabies is a serious reemerging zoonosis in China. At present human rabies cases are primarily diagnosed based on clinical presentation. CASE PRESENTATION: In August 2012, a woman and her son were attacked by a stray dog in Henan, China. The son received rabies postexposure prophylaxis (wound treatment followed by vaccine, no immunoglobulin), however, the mother did not. Rabies infection was subsequently laboratory confirmed in the mother and she died in December; her son is alive and healthy after 2 years of follow-up. CONCLUSION: This report documents that the timely utilization of postexposure prophylaxis is a required measure in preventing rabies after exposure to an animal bite. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40249-017-0321-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.