By Hou Akot Hou
A 5-year-old boy died on July 30th while at home in the Riang-Anei neighbourhood in Gok-machar, Aweil North County, as a result of a rabid dog bite, which occurred unnoticed by his parents.
Sultan Deng Ngong, the chief of the returnee community in Riang-Anei where returnees have spontaneously returned, narrated the mysterious incident, saying the victim died on Thursday last week after realising that he was suffering from rabid dog bite symptoms as he developed backing and salivating.
Ngon said he died around 1:00 PM as attempts were made to save him but to no avail, saying the parents came from Sudan recently, early this year.
“The incident occurred instantaneously after the parents had gone to the market to attempt to fend for themselves. The victim is a 5-year-old Kuol Garang who was bitten by a stray dog, which is believed to be one of the rabid dogs, and around 3:00 PM he developed a backache, he narrated.
He says around 1:00 in the afternoon on Thursday, the condition deteriorated after he salivated and barked a lot and eventually died.
“The problem developed to an extreme level that killed us, as we are returnees camping in the open at Riang-Anei, so nothing salvaged our situation, which made it easy for such incidents to eventually occur uncontained,” he lamented.
The chief blames the local community members for not vaccinating their wild animals, especially pets such as dogs, and also faults parents for leaving children unattended.
He cautioned that people who are adults need to take turns in taking care of and looking after kids and the whole family’s affairs, then going to the markets and leaving the house more vacant.
This latest incident highlights the need for more awareness to be raised as cases of wild dogs biting people have been on the rise in the state.
Despite efforts being made by Northern Bahr El Ghazal State’s Focal Point official Lual Aleu Jok, who cautions local community members to avoid trying all traditional methods of healing wild animal bites, such as the use of hyena skin to treat the bite.
Lual says people need to always rush to the nearest health facility and proceed to the State Hospital, Aweil Town, where such incidents can be alleviated or solved, persistence objections and lack of means from the community to rush their children to the facilities are contributing to the high increase of deaths when it comes to wild or rabid dog bites.
Residents also cite a lack of cash to provide to the vaccine owners once they reach Aweil Town, leaving the patients more vulnerable and hence succumbing to the conditions.