November 15, 2007
Rabies Facts
- Rabies is spread when saliva from an infected animal comes into contact with another person or animal.
- Pet vaccinations are an extremely important step in preventing the spread of rabies to humans.
- After the first rabies vaccine is given, a booster shot should be given 12 months later, and should be given every three years following this.
- Indications of rabies in animals can include changes in behavior, difficulty moving, problems swallowing.
- The only way to test for rabies is through the animal's head; if forced to shoot an animal, avoid this area.
- If human exposure was evident with the animal determined or suspected to be rabid, the victim will be treated with a post exposure prophylaxis (PEP). There have been no known fatal human cases of rabies when PEP was given promptly and appropriately after an exposure.
Pets
Q: How can I protect my pet from rabies?
A: There are several things you can do to protect your pet from rabies:
- If you have access to a veterinarian keep rabies vaccinations up-to-date for your pet
- Talk to the lay vaccinator in your village or contact YKHC's Office of Environmental Health and Engineering can be contacted at 800-478-6599 to arrange the services of a lay vaccinator.
- Spay or neuter your pets to help reduce the number of unwanted pets that may not be properly cared for or vaccinated regularly.
- Call animal control to remove all stray animals from your neighborhood since these animals may be unvaccinated or ill.
Q: Why does my pet need the rabies vaccine?
A: While wildlife are more likely to be rabid than are domestic animals, the amount of human contact with domestic animals is much greater than amount of contact with wildlife. This explains the tremendous cost of rabies prevention in domestic animals in the United States.
Your pets and other domestic animals can be infected if they are bitten by rabid wild animals. When "spillover" rabies occurs in domestic animals, the risk to humans is increased. Pets are vaccinated by a veterinarian or a lay vaccinator to prevent them from acquiring the disease from wildlife, and thereby transmitting it to humans.
Wild Animals
Q: What animals get rabies?
A:Any mammal can get rabies. The most common wild reservoirs of rabies are feral dogs, raccoons, skunks, bats, foxes, and coyotes. Domestic mammals can also get rabies. Dogs, cats, cattle, and ferrets are the most frequently reported rabid domestic animals in the United States. Small rodents (such as squirrels, rats, mice, hamsters, guinea pigs, gerbils, and chipmunks, ) and lagomorphs (such as rabbits and hares) are almost never found to be infected with rabies and have not been known to cause rabies among humans in the United States.
Bites by these animals are usually not considered a risk of rabies unless the animal was sick or behaving in any unusual manner and rabies is widespread in your area. Woodchucks or groundhogs are the only rodents that may be frequently submitted to state health department because of a suspicion of rabies. In all cases involving rodents, the state or local health department should be consulted before a decision is made to initiate postexposure prophylaxis (PEP).
Prevention and Control
Q: What happens if a wild animal bites my pet?
A: Any animal bitten or scratched by either a wild, carnivorous mammal that is not available for testing should be regarded as having been exposed to rabies. Unvaccinated dogs, cats, and ferrets exposed to a rabid animal should be euthanized immediately. Animals with expired vaccinations need to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Dogs and cats that are currently vaccinated are kept under observation for 45 days.
Human Rabies
Q: How do people get rabies?
A: People usually get rabies from the bite of a rabid animal. It is also possible, but quite rare, that people may get rabies if infectious material from a rabid animal, such as saliva, gets directly into their eyes, nose, mouth, or a wound.
Q: Can I get rabies in any way other than an animal bite?
A: Non-bite exposures to rabies are very rare. Scratches, abrasions, open wounds, or mucous membranes contaminated with saliva or other potentially infectious material (such as brain tissue) from a rabid animal constitute non-bite exposures. Other contact, such as petting a rabid animal or contact with the blood, urine or feces of a rabid animal, does not constitute an exposure.
Q: How soon after an exposure should I seek medical attention?
A: Medical assistance should be obtained as soon as possible after an exposure. There have been no vaccine failures in the United States (i.e., someone developed rabies) when postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) was given promptly and appropriately after an exposure.