Victims of a rabid wolf in india: effect of severity and location of bites on development of rabies.

A rabid wolf attacked 12 humans and six animals in six villages in the course of a day before it was surrounded and killed. Of the 12 human victims, three had severe wounds to the face and head, five had severe lacerations, two had less severe wounds on the trunk and limbs, and two had minor wounds or scratches. Nine of these victims received antirabies treatment with Semple vaccine (preceded by immune serum in one case). No persons with trunk and limb bites died. All three patients with head wounds died. One of these patients received vaccine and serum, one received vaccine, and the third had no treatment. Neutralizing antibodies were demonstrated in blood samples drawn 58 days after the incident from five survivors who had received a full course of treatment, but such antibodies were absent from the blood of one untreated survivor (who had only minor scratches and had refused treatment) and of the wife of one man who died, who had been in close contact with her husband throughout his illness. All severely bitten animals died of rabies. A dog that the carcass of a pig which had died of rabies itself developed rabies 12 days later. This event raised the possibility of infection by the oral route.