Animal Detective

Chapter 128 Rabies

It's almost November now.

The last time I saw Wang Lei and dealt with him was in early September, which is more than a month ago.

Shen Xin quickly pulled out a chair and sat down, asking, "Brother Xing, what case is this?"

A quick glance at the message confirmed it was indeed Wang Lei.

Then, in the "Cause of Death" column, is it "Death from illness"?

died?

Shen Xin was startled.

The key question is, how did the death report end up in the criminal investigation team?

"You unlucky guy."

Zhao Tianxing shrugged and lowered his voice, saying, "He died of rabies, Shen Xin. This is the kid you dealt with in the video you posted last time, right?"

He still remembers it.

Shen Xin nodded, somewhat incredulously, and said, "How could it be rabies?"

In big cities, cases of death from rabies are still very rare.

Pet dogs are vaccinated, and people are generally aware that stray dogs are safe from approaching them.

Even if someone is bitten, many people are aware of the importance of getting a rabies vaccine.

Moreover, if Shen Xin remembered correctly, even stray dogs infected with rabies are not infectious during the incubation period. It is only when they reach the symptom stage, when the virus enters their saliva, that they can transmit the virus by biting someone.

There are only about a hundred cases of rabies deaths nationwide each year.

Big cities are even rarer, maybe only one or two a year.

"Brother Xing, what exactly happened?" Shen Xin asked.

The case file shows that it was a case from October 25th, which means it happened the day before yesterday.

Zhao Tianxing pondered for a moment, then suddenly said, "Xiao Shen, are you busy? If you're not, come with me to the scene. I feel there's something wrong with this matter. You can come and give me your advice."

"Yes, I have."

Shen Xin nodded hurriedly. Even if it weren't for Wang Lei, whom he had dealt with before, a perfectly healthy young man who had suddenly died, he still needed a case to clear his head after reviewing countless files these past few days.

"Let's go then." Zhao Tianxing closed the file, picked up his bag, and stood up.

Not far away, Ding Yuwei, who was drinking water, hurriedly put down her cup. Before she could even swallow a sip, she rushed up to them, forced herself to swallow, and asked where the two were going.

"Can I come with you?" she asked Shen Xin pleadingly.

Zhao Tianxing shrugged, and Ding Yuwei quickly went to get her bag.

The three of them set off in their car.

The incident occurred in Tianhe Jiayuan, Huangtang Street, Tingyang District.

On the way, Zhao Tianxing explained the details of the case.

Tianhe Jiayuan is a resettlement community where Wang Lei and his roommate Zhang Qingpeng rented apartment 302 in unit 41.

Then at 10 PM on October 23, Zhang Qingpeng called 120, saying that his roommate was not in good condition, had been running a fever for several days, was feeling unwell, and could not breathe properly.

After the ambulance arrived, the accompanying doctor immediately realized that something was wrong with Wang Lei based on his description.

Rabies is highly suspected.

Wang Lei was urgently taken to an infectious disease hospital for treatment.

The diagnosis was rabies, and the disease had already progressed to the excitation phase.

Then, at 11:00 AM on October 25th, Wang Lei died from his injuries.

Wang Lei's family was certainly not happy that a healthy person had died like that, so they called the police to find out the cause of Wang Lei's illness.

Wang Lei does indeed own a dog, a husky.

After he was taken away by the ambulance, the epidemic prevention department was notified and rushed to the scene with the police from Huangtang Police Station to deal with the husky.

However, upon arriving at the scene, it was discovered that the husky did not exhibit any symptoms of rabies.

Furthermore, the timeline is also problematic. Wang Lei entered the hospital on the 23rd, which means he was already in the symptom stage, implying at least a two-week incubation period prior to that.

Dogs carrying the rabies virus also have an incubation period and an onset period, during which they are infectious.

If we assume that Wang Lei contracted the virus from being bitten by his husky, then that husky should have already fallen ill and died.

But it's alive and well.

Moreover, Wang Lei's roommate also provided proof of epidemic prevention measures.

He helped take this husky to the vet to get its rabies vaccine; the vaccination record is still there.

Therefore, we can only speculate that Wang Lei was bitten by a venomous dog while he was out.

He did indeed have a bite wound on his chin.

The epidemic prevention department also searched the vicinity of the community, but did not find any rabies-infected animals that died from the disease.

Furthermore, an investigation by the nearby Huangtang Community Hospital revealed no cases of rabies vaccinations received by residents from the vicinity of Tianhe Jiayuan.

"Huangtang investigated Wang Lei's movements but found nothing unusual."

Zhao Tianxing turned onto the expressway and then said, "But Old Zhao, who is in charge of this matter at their station, felt that there was something wrong with the case, so he reported it to us."

As he spoke, he turned to look at Shen Xin, his expression somewhat chilling, and said, "Old Zhao suspects that Wang Lei's roommate, Zhang Qingpeng, has a problem."

"what is the problem?"

Shen Xin immediately asked.

Although no sick dog was found, the case appears to be a normal accidental death.

Zhao Tianxing said, "Old Zhao said that Zhang Qingpeng's reaction was a bit off. He was quite flustered after the incident, and there were some discrepancies in his statements."

"Most importantly, their investigation found that Zhang Qingpeng went to the hospital to get a rabies vaccine on the 17th of last month."

“It’s recorded in his medical record that he wasn’t bitten by a dog; he just said he wanted to take precautions. Old Zhao thought his behavior was rather unusual, as if he knew in advance that Wang Lei would be infected with the rabies virus.”

Shen Xin frowned.

This behavior may sound unusual, but there is a reasonable explanation for it.

For example, if my roommate has a dog, it's normal for me to choose to get vaccinated for safety reasons.

"Brother Xing, what do you think?" Shen Xin asked in return.

Zhao Tianxing felt there was a problem and asked me for advice. So what was his reason?

Zhao Tianxing pondered for a moment and said, "I just think that a person in their early twenties is not stupid. If they are bitten by a stray dog, they will definitely get vaccinated. They won't be stupid enough to wait until the incubation period is over and then get sick and die."

Shen Xin was taken aback, and suddenly realized that what Zhao Tianxing said made a lot of sense.

If you get bitten by a stray dog, you should get vaccinated immediately. This is a basic understanding that any normal person would have.

Because rabies has a 100% mortality rate, no one would gamble on the minuscule probability that I might not be infected.

Shen Xin had met Wang Lei and could tell that he was a smart man and wouldn't be that stupid.

Ding Yuwei in the back row nodded in agreement, saying, "Indeed, the mortality rate is 100%. Let alone being bitten by a stray dog, even if it's your own dog, you'll still get it vaccinated if you're bitten, even if you know it's been vaccinated. You're just afraid of getting infected with the rabies virus when you take your dog out for a walk."

Although the rabies virus is only contagious during the symptom stage and the conditions for transmission are very strict, people still feel uncomfortable, concerned, and worried about the vague probability of getting infected.

With a 100% chance of death, no one would dare to gamble.

"So, is there a problem?"

Zhao Tianxing smiled, drove off the elevated road, and soon arrived at Huangtang Police Station.

He said "Old Zhao, Old Zhao," and Shen Xin didn't react until he saw the person and realized who he was talking about.

Zhao Shouchuan!

"Xiao Shen!"

Zhao Shouchuan's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly went up to greet Shen Xin, then said, "Not bad, you actually went to the Criminal Investigation Brigade and became a criminal police officer."

Zhao Shouchuan had a deep impression of Shen Xin.

He still can't forget the Wu Jiawang case.

(End of this chapter)