§ Mr. Adleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement about the death from rabies of Mr. Mohammed Muslin, from Manchester.
§ Dr. OwenMr. Muslin was admitted to North Manchester General Hospital on 10th June with a two-day history of abdominal pain. He had arrived in England nine months previously and, shortly before leaving Bangladesh, had been bitten by a dog. There was no history of vaccination being given. A clinical diagnosis of rabies was made but he soon became comatose and died. Preliminary tests failed to confirm the diagnosis but biological tests have now proved conclusively positive.
Six members of staff who were in close contact with the patient are all undergoing vaccination as a precautionary measure. Since, however, transmission of rabies from man to man has never been confirmed there is no cause for concern about the spread of infection from this patient.