Miracles in Review

It’s hard to believe 2009 is coming to a close.  I think back on all the small miracles I’ve witnessed this year – many I could not record here.  Earlier this week, I ran into my patient who became the inspiration for this site (see About).  Unfortunately her hand infection had returned, but this time she knew what she needed to do.  After several days of good treatment, the infection disappeared.  I reminded her of how important it was to take care of oneself, including proper diet, restful sleep and reducing stress levels.  Of course, these are not always easy to do, but she recognized what contributed to her relapse.

Then, I heard from my patient Rose, AIDS survivor, who called me from Florida to wish me a Merry Christmas.  She is on an amazing HIV medication, Isentress, which has helped raise her CD4 count to over 1,000!  It was just fantastic to think how well she is doing, after coming so close to passing away.  It was great Christmas news!

I believe hope is vitally important.  While making rounds in the hospital this week, I did my best to encourage a patient who had a complicated abdominal surgery.  Because her pain level was high and she was feeling miserable, her condition wasn’t improving, even though she was on the right medicines.  I spent time with her, made sure her pain was controlled, and encouraged her to fight through.  Now, several days later, she’s doing really well and should be going home in the next few days.

Today I just received a ‘Happy New Year’ greeting from Dr. Camino, my first rabies mentor.  It was a pleasant reminder about the work we need to do for the rabies patients in the Philippines.  I’m looking forward to increasing our  educational efforts there to try and help.  There is so much to do!

All the best for the New Year!

RW

Rabies in the Americas

I’ve just returned from the Rabies In The Americas (RITA) conference in Quebec, Canada.  It was a fantastic meeting of scientists, public health officials, veterinarians, doctors, students and others all interested in rabies.  It was a week long event which included many presentations about the latest discoveries in rabies research.

Participants from all over the Americas attended including Mexico, Brasil, Argentina, other South and Central American countries as well as the United States and Canada.  There were even participants from as far away as the Philippines, China, Sri Lanka and Thailand among other Asian countries.  Africa and Europe were also represented with participants from those regions as well.  All presentations were simultaneously presented in French, English, Spanish and Portugese  through a translation service.

It was the 20th anniversary of the meeting, which was in part founded by rabies hero Dr. George Baer.  The conference organizers honored Dr. Baer’s family during the event and named a scholarship for him – the George M. Baer Latin American Investigator Award.  This award recognizes an outstanding rabies researcher from Latin America every year.  This year, the prize went to Dr. Roberto Carrasco-Hernandez who presented a model for helping limit the impact of rabies in cattle caused by vampire bats.

The conference included a Gala night of celebration, where some of the scientists attending the conference dressed up in traditional 18th century French-Canadian costumes.  A raucus auction was held to raise money for rabies research.  It was quite a spectacle to behold!

I felt honored to be among the many rabies experts at RITA.  I learned so much more about rabies and the efforts that are ongoing to limit the impact of this terrible scourge.  I felt encouraged to meet and talk to so many people who are dedicating their lives to helping wipe out rabies.

Finally, we were given the privilege to host RITA XXII at Yale University in 2011.  We now have alot of planning and organization to do!  Wish us good luck!

RW

Rabies Hero, Dr. George Baer

There are some people who accomplish so much in life, they shine like beacons for the rest of us. Dr. George Baer is one such figure who contributed so much.

Although he passed from this life on June 2nd, he is immortalized as a ‘Rabies Hero’ – a pioneer in the field.

I first ‘discovered’ who he was after picking up a copy of his book ‘The Natural History of Rabies‘. That book was part of my introduction to rabies, after having learned firsthand about that horrible disease on a clinical rotation in the Philippines – see my blog “My first patient with rabies“. I read everything I could find about rabies and I learned what an important figure he was.

Dr. Baer had a long and productive scientific career. He worked for the public good out of a genuine compassion and concern for humanity. He served as head of the CDC rabies laboratory for a number of years. He went on to work in Mexico, where his efforts led to dramatic improvements in reducing rabies transmission.

Among his great contributions was the development of an oral rabies vaccine. That led to eradication of wildlife rabies in most of Europe. Even up-to the time of his passing, he was busy working on an improved vaccine for influenza.

Dr. Baer influenced so many people around the world. He is an inspiration we will never forget.

RW

A Day for Rabies

World Rabies Day is a cooperative global event planned to reduce the suffering from rabies. This day celebrates Dr. Louis Pasteur’s vision of a rabies free world. Dr. Pasteur developed the first rabies vaccine and led global efforts to wipe out the disease. This work continues but there is much still to be done.

Rabies is completely preventable. Here in the U.S., for example, death from rabies was virtually ‘wiped out’ when we vaccinated all our dogs. In other countries, however, rabies thrives where poverty prevails. This is because essentials such as clean food and water often take priority over animal health. In addition, other problems and plagues add a further burden on limited resources. Rabies gets pushed to the bottom of the list.

It amazes me that a disease like rabies can still exist in this 21st century. It is absolute Evil. The virus is so primitive, so sinister. It is deceptive, cruel and merciless.