Rabies acquired from a Marmoset in Brazil

In March 2012, a 9 year old boy from the state of Ceara in Brazil was diagnosed with rabies.

The boy was bitten by a marmoset (tamarin monkey) on the 3rd of February while playing with the animal in the Jaiti municipality, 524 km from Recife, but did not tell his family about it. Medical attention began 15 days later with the 1st symptoms, fever and vomiting. Initially, the diagnosis was meningitis, but due to his restless behavior and the discovery of the history of an untreated animal bite, rabies was later considered. Samples taken in the hospital tested positive for rabies in the state laboratory, and the diagnosis was subsequently confirmed in Sao Paulo.

He was hospitalized in early March and placed in a coma according to the Recife protocol (based on the Milwaukee protocol), which previously saved a 16 year old adolescent from clinical rabies in Brazil in 2008. All parts of the Recife protocol were administered to the 9 year old, but on March 12th he died after a loss of blood pressure and cardiorespiratory arrest.

Summarised from 2 reports to ProMed Mail, on March 7th and March 12th, both reporting Brazilian NE10 TV channel reports.