A four-year-old child became a victim of a rabid cat in the Lepel district

September 18, Vitebsk / Olga Bogacheva - BELTA /. A four-year-old child became a victim of a rabid cat in the Lepel district, Marina Fando, press secretary of the Vitebsk Regional Department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, told a BELTA correspondent. The boy, who permanently resides in Germany, was spending his summer holidays at his grandmother's in the village of Borovka, Kamensky village council. The toddler's acquaintance with a stray animal resulted in bites and hospitalization with suspected rabies. The cat was caught and necessary tests were conducted. The unpleasant diagnosis was confirmed by veterinarians of the regional center's laboratory. The animal was euthanized, and the child is currently undergoing a 30-day course of rabies treatment at the Lepel Central District Hospital. In addition, measures are being taken in Borovka to identify people and animals that had contact with the infected cat. As of September 17, a total of 116 cases of rabies among animals were detected in the Vitebsk region. Every year, 3.5 thousand people seek medical attention for suspected rabies infection, according to the Vitebsk Regional Center for Hygiene, Epidemiology, and Public Health. -0-