Brazilian Teen 14 Becomes Fifth Person In The World Cured Of Rabies From Vampire Bats

Nothing short of a miracle’: Brazilian teenager, 14, infected with rabies after he was bitten by vampire bats becomes the fifth person in the world to be CURED of the deadly disease

A teenager has become only the fifth person in the world to be cured of rabies, according to Brazilian health officials. Mateus dos Santos da Silva, 14 was one of three children from the same family who contracted the disease in November last year.

The virus killed his two siblings – Lucas, 17, and Miria, 10, within weeks of each other after it took hold.

Mateus was bitten several times by vampire bats in Rio Unini, a rural community situated on the Rio Negro, a major river flowing through the Amazon jungle. Now the youngster has made a remarkable recovery after pioneering treatment that saw him placed in an induced coma. This is said to protect the brain and help patients survive long enough for their immune system to produce antibodies to fight off the virus.

He is the second person in Brazil to be cured of rabies, after Recife-based Marciano Menezes was saved in 2009.

The boy’s father, Levi Castro da Silva, 47, said: ‘Mateus’s survival is nothing short of a miracle. He is still recovering and very weak and he is unable to move certain parts of his body. The recovery process is full of risks, but we are full of hope as we know the worst is over. We are looking forward to having him home soon, to see him walking, talking and laughing again.’

Experimental procedure

Rabies is a rare but very serious infection of the brain and nerves and is almost always fatal once symptoms appear.

The virus infects the central nervous system, causing confusion or aggressive behaviour, hallucinations, frothing at the mouth and paralysis and ultimately death. The illness can take up to nine months to manifest.

Mateus was admitted to the Tropical Medical Foundation (FMT) in Manaus suffering from fever and tingling in the hands on the same day his sister died.

But the resilient youth survived after being treated with the Milwaukee protocol. The experimental procedure, created by American doctor Rodney Willoughby, involves administering antiviral drugs while putting the patient into a chemically induced coma to protect the brain from damage.

Throughout the treatment, medical teams were in contact with Dr Willoughby who monitored and contributed his expertise to the case.

Mateus spent 40 days in intensive care (ICU) in an induced coma supported by mechanical ventilation.

According to Dr Antonio Magela, infectious disease specialist at FMT who coordinated the treatment, the young man’s chances were boosted by an early diagnosis and his immediate hospitalisation.

Sadly, this was not the case for his siblings, who were already in the full throes of the illness.

During the a press conference he said: ‘Mateus arrived just hours after his sister died suffering from tingling and numbness in the hands but he didn’t have any neurological symptoms.

‘He was immediately admitted and that same night, he had a seizure and had to be sedated and sent to ICU.

‘He was treated from the start with the Milwaukee protocol, due to the history of bat attacks.’

A teenager from the US became the first patient known to have survived rabies without receiving the rabies vaccine.

In 2004, student Jeanna Giese, then 15, was bitten by a bat she picked up while attending church in her hometown in Wisconsin.

Thirty-seven days after the bite, she was admitted to hospital with double vision, slurred speech, and jerking in her left arm.

Dr Rodney Willoughby successfully treated her with the Milwaukee protocol, sometimes referred to as the Wisconsin protocol.

His goal was to put her into an induced coma to essentially protect her brain from the rabies virus with the hope she would survive long enough for her immune system to produce the antibodies to fight off the virus.

The girl was brought out of the coma after six days and after 31 days in the hospital, she was declared virus-free and removed from isolation.

In Brazil, Recife-based Marciano Menezes made history after he became the first person in Brazil to be cured of rabies in 2009.

He was bitten in the ankle by a vampire bat while he slept.

After he left ICU, the man, who is now 24 years old, underwent orthopaedic surgery for his upper and lower limbs which had atrophied.

He remains confined to a wheelchair but dreams of walking one day.

Three victims beat the disease in the US in 2004 and 2011, and in Colombia in 2008. The latter died from other clinical causes after being cured.

After more than a month of life-saving treatment, the patient was discharged this month from ICU and is already out of bed and in a chair. He is expected to remain in hospital for at least four months to combat complications and to aid his rehabilitation. He is being monitored by paediatricians, physiotherapists, nutritionists, neurologist and other professionals.

Dr Magela said: ‘It is possible to celebrate his recovery, but we have to be cautious since the disease can leave complications. Mateus is already reacting to the presence of his family and rejecting food he doesn’t like. This is all good news. Also, the fact that he is swallowing spontaneously and breathing independently makes us think that the key areas of his nervous system have been preserved or are recovering. The first patient to be cured of rabies in Brazil was hospitalised for nine months and still has outpatient follow-ups. We want to ensure this teenager has the best possible recovery. Therefore, he will continue to be accompanied by a multidisciplinary team.’

Sister ‘drenched in blood from bites on her elbows’

His survival has been hailed a miracle by family and friends in the small close-knit jungle community as Mateus has become only the second person in the South American country to beat the deadly virus.

Mr Castro da Silva said that while he celebrated the prospect of his son’s recovery he remained concerned that authorities had failed to protect the community with preventative vaccines and measures to control the blood-sucking creatures, prevalent in the forest area.

He said: ‘My children were contaminated with the disease because of the lack of information. We have never received guidance on the prevention of human rabies. More than 88 people in our area were bitten by bats in 2017. We reported the incidents but never got help. If we had, maybe all my children would be alive today. Every day for over a year, my ten-year-old daughter Miria would get up drenched in blood from bites on her elbows, on her hands and to her toes. She suffered more than 20 lacerations during this period. But the symptoms of the disease took some time to appear. Miria became poorly in the same week my other son Lucas fell ill.’

Lucas, 17, died in hospital in November last year, from viral encephalitis –inflammation on the brain. He had been bitten more than ten times since 2016 by the nocturnal mammals. An autopsy found the adolescent was infected with the lyssavirus, which causes human rabies. Miria was hospitalised for 16 days and underwent urgent treatment to combat the virus but died on 2 December.

Brazil’s department of health has been carrying out a vaccination programme in the Rio Unini district including inoculating cats and dogs. It is also capturing and applying a venom paste to the bats to cull and control the spread of them.

Health teams have supplied residents with mosquito nets impregnated with pesticide and insect repellents along with health education advice.

By Claudia Tanner For Mailonline