Afghanistan Soldier Dies of Rabies.....Foreign Soldiers at Risk

[Sunshine]

Not a real new story, but I don't recall reading it on here:

We don't realize that other countries don't protect their animals the way we do here in the US.

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. -- Had Army Spc. Kevin Shumaker died from a mortar blast or insurgent fire while serving in Afghanistan, that would be devastating but fathomable.

Instead, the decorated 24-year-old from Livermore, Calif., was dealt a fatal blow in January while breaking up, of all things, a dogfight at his remote Afghanistan base.

Eight months after a stray dog bit his hand, Shumaker died from rabies in a New York hospital, the only death this year in the United States from the rare and very treatable disease.

Shumaker told his parents he was treated for rabies at the base, but the series of injections was not completed.

His family members, who live in Castro Valley, Calif., want answers from the Army as to how Shumaker died from such a preventable disease and to make sure no more soldiers meet the same fate.

"I would not be without my son if the proper treatment was given to Kevin," his mother, Elaine Taylor, said Wednesday. "Rabies is 100 percent preventable with the right vaccine, but without that treatment you die.

"If he would have died from an enemy attack, we would've been devastated, but we knew he was in harm's way when he was deployed."

The incubation period for rabies can be fair long...one to three months"

Rabies Incubation Period

Transmission of rabies does not require a bite, just exposure to saliva of an infected animal which gets into an open wound.

 

[whitehall]

The series of injections was not completed? A 24 year old Soldier didn't realize that he needed to complete rabis shots after he was bitten by a rabid dog? The Army didn't understand that the Soldier needed to complete the rabis shots? WTF?

 

[Sunshine]

The series of injections was not completed? A 24 year old Soldier didn't realize that he needed to complete rabis shots after he was bitten by a rabid dog? The Army didn't understand that the Soldier needed to complete the rabis shots? WTF?

WTF is right!

 

[SFC Ollie]

I would say the military screwed this one up, BAD. There is no excuse for this to have happened. I would like to see a full investigation. And charges filed possibly up to negligent homicide.

 

[Sunshine]

I would say the military screwed this one up, BAD. There is no excuse for this to have happened. I would like to see a full investigation. And charges filed possibly up to negligent homicide.

So would I. They are at least sending out an alert for returning soldiers:

Metro and State | VA warns returning soldiers about risk of rabies | The Detroit News

A soldier could possibly be stateside for several months before symptoms show up. And as previously stated, an acutal 'bite' is not required. There are also several vectors such as cat, bat, fox, skunk, raccoon, mongoose or jackal, as the article stated.

 

[whitehall]

How could people not know the danger of being bitten by a strange animal? Any mammal can be a carrier of rabies. A neighbor had a cow that was rabid probably due to being bitten by a rabid fox that was found in the area and he shot the thing on a windy day. The local medical team told him he was in danger for rabies because the foam that the cow was spitting could have gotten on his skin or in his eyes. He took the series of shots.

 

[Sunshine]

How could people not know the danger of being bitten by a strange animal? Any mammal can be a carrier of rabies. A neighbor had a cow that was rabid probably due to being bitten by a rabid fox that was found in the area and he shot the thing on a windy day. The local medical team told him he was in danger for rabies because the foam that the cow was spitting could have gotten on his skin or in his eyes. He took the series of shots.

Americans in foreign countries don't always realize that the standards there are not up to ours. Everyone I know has their animals vaccinated. I have an indoor cat, and even though there hasn't been a case of feline rabies in western KY for over 30 years, I still get her vaccinated each year. BUT apparently they DID know the danger because the series of shot was started. Just never completed.

 

[xotoxi]

I would say the military screwed this one up, BAD. There is no excuse for this to have happened. I would like to see a full investigation. And charges filed possibly up to negligent homicide.

It's called malpractice. It's unfortunate, but not negligent homicide.

 

[Sunshine]

I would say the military screwed this one up, BAD. There is no excuse for this to have happened. I would like to see a full investigation. And charges filed possibly up to negligent homicide.

It's called malpractice. It's unfortunate, but not negligent homicide.

Even in medical malpractice, negligence can rise to the criminal level.

 

[xotoxi]

I would say the military screwed this one up, BAD. There is no excuse for this to have happened. I would like to see a full investigation. And charges filed possibly up to negligent homicide.

It's called malpractice. It's unfortunate, but not negligent homicide.

Even in medical malpractice, negligence can rise to the criminal level.

It's rare. The Michael Jackson case is the only one I can think of.

 

[Sunshine]

It's called malpractice. It's unfortunate, but not negligent homicide.

Even in medical malpractice, negligence can rise to the criminal level.

It's rare. The Michael Jackson case is the only one I can think of.

There are others. Not feeling much like looking for links right now, but the case that comes to my mind is that of a nurse and a pharmacist in Colorado. They were convicted, given probation for a couple of years or so, and had to have no more such incidents to occur. In this case a baby died when a pharmacist filled a script for penicillin for at a concentration that was too strong, the NP changed the route the MD had ordered from IM to IV. That was a lethal combination. It was also criminal negligence under that state's laws as the parties knew or should have known better than to do what they did. A military provider should know better than to not complete a series of rabies shots.

 

[waltky]

Air Force recruit kidney donor, transplant patient both die of rabies...

Rabid organ transplant kills Maryland man
15 March 2013 - CDC officials say that both donor and recipient had a type of rabies usually linked to raccoons

A man in the US state of Maryland has died of rabies, which he contracted from an infected kidney transplant more than a year ago, health officials say. The early March death has led officials to treat three other patients who received organs from the same donor. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) say doctors did not suspect rabies as the cause of death in the donor and did not test for it. Typically no more than three cases of rabies are diagnosed in the US yearly. The donor died of raccoon rabies in Florida in 2011 after moving there from North Carolina.

The recipients of the donor's heart, liver and other kidney are receiving anti-rabies vaccines, the CDC said in a news release on Friday. They live in Illinois, Georgia and Florida. "The organ transplantation occurred more than a year before the recipient developed symptoms and died of rabies," the CDC said, adding such an incubation period is much longer than usual but not unheard of. Despite this case, the benefits of organ transplantation "generally outweigh the risks", the CDC said in a statement.

BBC News - Rabid organ transplant kills Maryland man

See also:

Donor in rabies cases had symptoms, wasn't tested
Mar 15,`13 : A 20-year-old Air Force recruit who died of rabies had symptoms of the disease but wasn't tested before his organs were transplanted to four patients, one of whom died of rabies nearly 18 months later, federal health officials said Friday.

The three other organ recipients are getting rabies shots and haven't displayed any symptoms. Doctors at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declined to speculate on their chances for survival. "This case is so unique and atypical that we cannot make predictions," said Richard Franka, acting leader of the CDC's rabies team. Dr. Matthew Kuehnert, director of the agency's Office of Blood, Organ, and Other Tissue Safety, said investigators don't know why doctors in Florida didn't test the donor for rabies before offering his kidneys, heart and liver to people in Florida, Georgia, Illinois and Maryland.

The man in Maryland who received the transplant died. The Defense Department said he was an Army veteran who had transplant surgery at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. A rabies test after a death can take four hours once the tissue reaches a lab in Atlanta, New York and California, Franka said. That's precious time, considering a donated kidney remains viable for less than 24 hours; other organs last for less than six.

The donor had seizures and encephalitis - a brain inflammation that can be caused by rabies - but those symptoms can also be caused by a variety of bacterial, viral and other more common conditions. "Rabies is very unusual and it can look like a lot of different things," Kuehnert said. "I personally can't say I would have been able to make the correct diagnosis had I been there, without knowing what I know now." Federal rules require organ banks to disclose "any known or suspected" infectious conditions that might be transmitted by the donor organs. "We don't know exactly what was communicated, but from what I understand of the patient workup, they did not find any evidence of an infection," Kuehnert said.

The donor died in September 2011 at a Florida medical facility. His cause of death was listed as encephalitis of unknown origin, Florida Department of Health epidemiologist Dr. Carina Blackmore said. He was a North Carolina resident who was training to become an aviation mechanic in Pensacola, Fla., when he got sick, Defense Department spokeswoman Cynthia O. Smith said. A rabies expert unconnected to the case, Dr. Rodney Willoughby of Milwaukee, said the three other recipients have a strong chance of surviving since they haven't shown any symptoms.

MORE

 

[Sunshine]

Air Force recruit kidney donor, transplant patient both die of rabies...

Rabid organ transplant kills Maryland man
15 March 2013 - CDC officials say that both donor and recipient had a type of rabies usually linked to raccoons

A man in the US state of Maryland has died of rabies, which he contracted from an infected kidney transplant more than a year ago, health officials say. The early March death has led officials to treat three other patients who received organs from the same donor. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) say doctors did not suspect rabies as the cause of death in the donor and did not test for it. Typically no more than three cases of rabies are diagnosed in the US yearly. The donor died of raccoon rabies in Florida in 2011 after moving there from North Carolina.

The recipients of the donor's heart, liver and other kidney are receiving anti-rabies vaccines, the CDC said in a news release on Friday. They live in Illinois, Georgia and Florida. "The organ transplantation occurred more than a year before the recipient developed symptoms and died of rabies," the CDC said, adding such an incubation period is much longer than usual but not unheard of. Despite this case, the benefits of organ transplantation "generally outweigh the risks", the CDC said in a statement.

BBC News - Rabid organ transplant kills Maryland man

See also:

Donor in rabies cases had symptoms, wasn't tested
Mar 15,`13 : A 20-year-old Air Force recruit who died of rabies had symptoms of the disease but wasn't tested before his organs were transplanted to four patients, one of whom died of rabies nearly 18 months later, federal health officials said Friday.

The three other organ recipients are getting rabies shots and haven't displayed any symptoms. Doctors at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declined to speculate on their chances for survival. "This case is so unique and atypical that we cannot make predictions," said Richard Franka, acting leader of the CDC's rabies team. Dr. Matthew Kuehnert, director of the agency's Office of Blood, Organ, and Other Tissue Safety, said investigators don't know why doctors in Florida didn't test the donor for rabies before offering his kidneys, heart and liver to people in Florida, Georgia, Illinois and Maryland.

The man in Maryland who received the transplant died. The Defense Department said he was an Army veteran who had transplant surgery at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. A rabies test after a death can take four hours once the tissue reaches a lab in Atlanta, New York and California, Franka said. That's precious time, considering a donated kidney remains viable for less than 24 hours; other organs last for less than six.

The donor had seizures and encephalitis - a brain inflammation that can be caused by rabies - but those symptoms can also be caused by a variety of bacterial, viral and other more common conditions. "Rabies is very unusual and it can look like a lot of different things," Kuehnert said. "I personally can't say I would have been able to make the correct diagnosis had I been there, without knowing what I know now." Federal rules require organ banks to disclose "any known or suspected" infectious conditions that might be transmitted by the donor organs. "We don't know exactly what was communicated, but from what I understand of the patient workup, they did not find any evidence of an infection," Kuehnert said.

The donor died in September 2011 at a Florida medical facility. His cause of death was listed as encephalitis of unknown origin, Florida Department of Health epidemiologist Dr. Carina Blackmore said. He was a North Carolina resident who was training to become an aviation mechanic in Pensacola, Fla., when he got sick, Defense Department spokeswoman Cynthia O. Smith said. A rabies expert unconnected to the case, Dr. Rodney Willoughby of Milwaukee, said the three other recipients have a strong chance of surviving since they haven't shown any symptoms.

MORE

Yes, I got a memo from the CDC on this just this week.

 

[waltky]

Fallout from transplant screw-up...

23 urged to get rabies shot after transplant death
Mar 19,`13 WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says at least 23 people have been urged to get rabies shots following the disclosure that four patients received organs from an infected donor.

Public health agencies in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland and North Carolina began searching at least a week ago for people who may have been exposed.

A man in Maryland who got a kidney from the donor in 2011 died of rabies. Organs from the same Air Force airman went to three other recipients, all of whom remain healthy.

The CDC said Tuesday that health officials in the five states found more than 500 people who might have had contact with a recipient, the donor or an organ. About 90 percent of them have been assessed for risk of infection.

Source