Four years after she nearly died from rabies, Jeanna Giese is being heralded as the first person known to have survived the virus without receiving a preventative vaccine. But Giese (pronounced Gee-See) says she would gladly share that honor with others if only doctors could show that the treatment used to save her could spare other victims as well. "They shouldn't stop 'till it's perfected," said Giese, now 19, during a recent interview about physicians' quest to refine the technique that may have kept her alive.

Giese's wish may come true. Another young girl infected with rabies is still alive more than a month after doctors induced a coma to put her symptoms on hold, just as they did with Giese. Yolanda Caicedo, an infectious disease specialist at Hospital Universitario del Valle in Cali, Colombia, who is treating the latest survivor, confirmed reports in the Colombian newspaper El País that the victim is an eight-year-old girl who came down with symptoms in August, about a month after she was bitten by an apparently rabid cat. Caicedo said that the family had sought treatment for the bite in Bolivar, at a hospital about three hours by foot from their rural home, but that the child, Nelsy Gomez, did not receive the series of vaccines that can prevent the virus from turning into full-blown rabies.

The five shots contain minute amounts of the dead rabies virus and are designed to nudge the body into developing antibodies to fight it. Patients are also given a shot of immunoglobulin (in this case a synthesized rabies antibody) to protect them while their immune systems produce antibodies to the vaccine virus. But the combination is only effective within six days of infection, before symptoms show up; when Gomez developed signs of the disease, it was too late for the shots. With no other options available, doctors induced a coma.

Caicedo is hopeful, but indicated that Gomez will face a long, slow recovery. She would not say how long Gomez was comatose but told ScientificAmerican.com that she had been awake for "a few days" and is stable. The child can move her fingers but cannot walk or eat on her own, and her eyes are open but she cannot speak yet and physicians are not sure if she can see, Caicedo says.

Giese, informed of the case, says that she "hopes and prays" that Gomez will survive.

Giese was the keynote speaker at a conference last week in Atlanta, where scientists gathered to discuss the latest research being conducted on ways to battle the deadly disease. During her talk, she urged physicians to continue efforts to pin down treatments that work.

Giese was 15 when she was infected after being bitten by a rabid bat she had picked up outside her church in her hometown of Fond du Lac, Wisc.

13 Comments

1. 1. yanghuansailing 11:32 PM 10/9/08

   After reading this news, I came up with an idea that another Nobelist for medicine will be born soon. Despite the restrictions of the method performed on that little girl, we may believe in that rabies will not be the horrible killer in the near future.

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2. 2. raveneapoe 04:56 PM 10/30/08

   I seem to recall a young boy from Pittsburgh, PA. surviving rabies a couple of decades ago.
   He was also bitten by a rabid bat but was unable to take the vaccine because he was allergic to the vaccine available at the time.
   
   His symptoms were treated as they arose and he was placed in a coma to prevent seizures and other symptoms.
   
   I'm sure I read about this many, many years ago, and if true it would mean this young lady isn't the first or only survivor of full blown rabies.
   
   Anyone else remember anything regarding this? Or am I just getting senile? ;-)

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3. 3. alamosaurus 09:23 PM 12/19/08

   The boy's name was Matthew Winkler. He did get the rabies vaccine, but developed rabies anyway, probably because the vaccine was started too late. But the vaccine gave him a partial immunity so he was able to fight the disease off. This happened in 1971.

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4. 4. raveneapoe 10:11 AM 12/20/08

   Thank you,
   I googled Matthew Winkler and found this article from the FDA:
   
   "In 1970 Matthew Winkler was exposed [to rabies], treated [with postexposure vaccine], and because vaccines were not as good then, experienced a vaccine failure. He recovered despite the vaccine failure, which is a far different thing than catching the disease, [not being treated,] and recovering," he points out. "Some people question to this day whether that case meets all the criteria [of a human known to survive rabies without treatment]."
   
   I guess I forgot all the facts, thanks for the information, it really is appreciated.

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5. 5. KashMD 02:02 AM 9/26/09

   Hi, even before these 2 cases, there was a boy named Abdul Karim in India in the early 1900s perhaps who was treated after he was declared "no cure for him".

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6. 6. KashMD 02:03 AM 9/26/09

   Actually, in the early 1900s another boy Abdul Karim survived Rabies after he was labelled "no cure for him". I have his account, if anyone needs it, ask for it. Its amazing.

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7. 7. vagabond 04:02 AM 2/10/10

   Is it possible to get infected by an animal who have not shown the symptom of rabies? or maybe still in the incubation period? I live in an epidemic area and two week ago had met 3 astray puppies not far from my place. One died couple of days after that, I thought the caused is distemper so I brought the other 2 home. After reading more about rabies..., I have a second thought, cause the symptom is a bit similar with the description above. It is almost 10 days now and they seem fine, eat a lot and play a lot. I just a bit worry.... can someone give me an information? thanks a lot

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8. 8. KAT SNOD 03:56 AM 5/11/10

   Jeanna Giese's parents were very stupid if they knew she received a bat bite and didn't seek prophylactic treatment. They only cleaned the wound? They could have gotten her much less expensive treatment before she became ill. They should have at least sought medical advice regarding a bat bite. It's so sad that people in this country are so uneducated. Poor children suffer people's idiocy. They are LUCKY that the girl survived. I hope they know that and make an effort not to be so stupid.

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9. 9. mszach 03:33 PM 7/27/10

   I think God must have been watching out for Jeanna. Rabies is such an intractable and horrible disease, no one survives more than a few weeks (at the very most) It sounds like she was nearly dead when she got to the hospital, although her case study says that she had sought medical help early in the course of the disease. God shows us that he still perform miracles!! Still, I am extremely hopeful for the people who suffer from this horrible virus, clearly the worst on the face of the Earth.

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10. 10. orwhut in reply to alamosaurus 04:04 PM 6/14/11

    I remembered Matthew Winkler's story incompletely too and searching for it, brought me here. Thank you for supplying his name.

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11. 11. boyet 02:04 AM 2/5/12

    Matthew Winkler was featured in a Reader's Digest issue in the early 1970s. i think the title of the article is "The Boy Who Didn't Die." i was in elementary school at that time.

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12. 12. Auntie Ba 11:42 PM 10/17/12

    I arrived here by Google search "human rabies survivor," because I remembered the Mattew Winkler story, but not his name or dates. Thanks for posting, alamosaurus. I didn't know he was placed in a coma, but followed long enough to know any light, sound or other stimulus resulted in severe convulsions, so I'm glad they did so. Thankfully, Total Parenteral Nutrition is also much better now, so patients' bodies can be better supported through a long convalescence. This plus steroids and IV hypertonic solution to reduce brain swelling if it occurs offers real hope that more people may survive.

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13. 13. Auntie Ba 11:49 PM 10/17/12

    I arrived here by Google search "human rabies survivor," because I remembered Matthew Winkler's story, but not his name or the date. I didn't know he'd been placed in a coma, but followed long enough to know that any light, sound or other stimulous resulted in dangerous convulsions, so I'm glad they did. That, plus modern Total Parenteral Nutrition, steroids and hypertonic IV solution for possible brain swelling give me hope that more sufferers may survive.

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