The Jakarta Post           
 
Thursday, January 29, 2009 1:54 PM

Another patient, late to be reported, dies by Luh De Suryani, Contributor, Denpasar

Another suspected rabies patient died Wednesday, with doctors saying
that it was another case of too little, too late.

According to the doctors at Sanglah Hospital, Ni Made Ruken, 45, was
still in critical condition as of noon Tuesday. Her condition
continued to deteriorate as she showed specific rabies symptoms such
as phobia, excessive salivating, breathing difficulty and occasional
fits of rage. She died at 2 p.m. on Wednesday after being treated in
an isolated chamber designated for contagious tropical diseases.

Her husband, Ketut Rampun, had reportedly refused to eat since Monday
because of his wife's condition.

"There's just nothing weird about being bitten by a dog. How could
something like that kill somebody? Why did it have to be my wife?"
Rampun said, covering his face.

He and his nephew, I Made Puja, learned about the doctor's diagnosis
early Tuesday of possible rabies, after they brought Ruken to Sanglah
Hospital. They said they never believed the virus existed in their
area.

"We're just simple people. We don't know anything. This was so
unexpected," said Puja, representing the family after the others
refused to give an interview.

He said a dog had snuck into Ruken's house in Nusa Dua, Badung, and
bitten her on her upper left forearm. "My aunt was preparing an
offering to the gods while sitting on the floor," Puja said.

After she was bitten, the family took her to a nearby community
health center for first aid.

Three months later, Ruken began showing symptoms specific to a rabies
infection, including fear of wind and a sore tongue. The family
responded by taking Ruken to a witch doctor. When her condition
continued to deteriorate, the family decided to take her to Sanglah
Hospital.

Puja added he had told all this to the doctors, paramedics and the
Sanglah rabies task force.

The last two patients suspected of having rabies also came to Sanglah
Hospital already in critical condition, dying less than 24 hours
later.

Sanglah physician Sagung Anom Suryani urged the public to immediately
vaccinate themselves if they had been bitten within the past year.

"Don't wait until the symptoms of rabies show up. It'll be too late
by then," Sagung said.

Seven people suspected of being infected with rabies have died within
the past few months.

Officials insist on not disclosing previous blood test results for
the victims. Ken Wirasandhi, Sanglah rabies task force spokesman,
declined to confirm whether Ruken had really died of rabies.

"We haven't gotten results of an internal examination of the patient,
only the external examinations show rabies-specific symptoms. What's
clear is that her condition only got worse," he said.