Rabies is a known viral disease that impacts the brain and nervous system. It is transmitted via a rabid animal’s bite. The virus’s incubation span, or the time between infection and the start of symptoms, is relatively long: approximately two months on average. Rabies vaccination is effective even when administered after infection due to the virus’s prolonged incubation period. Once symptoms develop, however, the disease advances ruthlessly and unabatedly.
What are the symptoms of rabies?
Rabies is characterized by exhaustion, sore throat, chills, vomiting, and headache. After one week, these symptoms, which include disorientation, hallucinations, strange behavior, hyperactivity, and difficulty swallowing, deteriorate. The ultimate stage of rabies is characterized by paralysis, unconsciousness, and, eventually, death. Visit this page if you suspect that your pet is infected by rabies.
How is rabies transmitted?
Rabies is spread via contact with the saliva of an infected animal. While any mammal can develop rabies, the most frequently infected in the United States are raccoons, skunks, bats, and foxes. Rabies is spread via the bite of an infected animal. Rabies can also be transmitted by licking an open wound, cutting, scratching, or licking an infected animal’s mouth, eyes, or nose. That is why it is important to regularly take your pet to the best vet Suwanee Ga has to offer. Petting a rabid animal will not transmit rabies.
If a rabid animal bites you or a family member, clean the wound thoroughly immediately and contact your local health authority or an infectious disease expert (at a hospital) to determine which animals in the area are prone to spread rabies.
How should someone who has been bitten by a potentially rabid animal be treated?
Treatment of persons bitten by a potentially rabid animal should involve the following:
- Clean the wound gently with soap and water.
- Inject rabies immune globulin (RIG),* a serum preparation produced from patients with increased anti-rabies antibody levels in their blood. RIG should be injected into and around the wound to prevent the rabies virus from adhering to the neurological system.
- Immediately begin the rabies vaccine sequence.*
- Feel free to contact animal control.
When is rabies vaccination not necessary?
If the animal (for example, a dog or cat) has been observed in the region for ten days, it can be observed to assess if it is acting normally.
-After ten days, if the animal exhibits no signs of rabies, no treatment is required.
Additionally, animals that have been vaccinated against rabies are unlikely to transmit the disease – all the more reason to verify that your animals have been vaccinated against rabies.
Rabies is not transmitted by mice, rats, squirrels, rabbits, birds, or chipmunks. There is no evidence of rabies being contracted or transmitted by reptiles, amphibians, or fish.
When is rabies vaccination necessary?
- -If no one is familiar with the animal and it cannot be observed, or if the animal is discovered in a nation where rabid animals are prevalent, treatment should begin immediately.
- -Within ten days of observation, if the animal exhibits any indicators of rabies (such as strange or aberrant behavior), treatment should begin immediately.
Rabies can be transmitted by raccoons, skunks, foxes, and bats. Unvaccinated companion animals that are not regularly taken to places like Heart of Suwanee Animal Hospital, such as cats and dogs, may spread rabies.
Conclusion
While vaccination can help prevent death, it will never be enough to eradicate the disease, and expenses will continue to climb over time. The most cost-effective method is to invest in eliminating rabies’ source of transmission. Vaccinating at least 70% of dogs in high-risk areas has become universally accepted as the most effective prevention of human rabies mortality.
