What is Rabies? How is Rabies Transmitted?
Rabies is a viral illness that can affect humans, as well as almost every mammal species. When birds become exposed to the virus they can develop antibodies to the virus, but they do not get sick. Symptoms of rabies can appear anywhere from four days to six years after the bite that caused the exposure. The first symptoms to appear are fever and headache, which can be mistaken for many other illnesses. Then the classic rabies symptoms appear, such as delirium, aggression, inability to sleep, and painful spasms of the throat, which lead to an inability to swallow and excessive salivation (“foaming at the mouth”). These symptoms occur because of encephalitis (inflammation of the brain). Once the foaming at the mouth and the neurological symptoms begin, rabies is almost always fatal.
Only one person is known to have survived rabies after the presentation of symptoms. In 2003, Jeanna Giese of Wisconsin was hospitalized with rabies symptoms, placed in a medically induced coma, and treated with antivirals. After she recovered, though, doctors discovered that she had already developed antibodies to rabies before the bite that caused her illness.
When a person gets bitten or scratched by an animal that might have rabies, the person should promptly seek treatment in the form of post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). If an animal bit you without provocation, that is reason enough to suspect that it has rabies because rabies makes animals more aggressive. PEP consists of several injections near the bite wound site and one deep intramuscular injection, usually in the shoulder or leg. PEP is 100% effective if given immediately after the bite occurs and still almost completely effective if given several days, or even several weeks later. If you get treatment promptly, the chances are almost zero that you will get rabies from a dog bite or other animal bite.
Thanks to PEP, you almost certainly do not have to worry about getting rabies from a dog bite in Missouri, but there is an additional reason that you should not worry about. Missouri law requires dog owners to vaccinate their dogs against rabies. Puppies must get a series of rabies vaccinations, and adult dogs must get a booster shot every three years. Of course, if a stray dog bites you, or if a pet dog whose owner you do not know bites you, you cannot be sure if the dog is up to date on its rabies shots, so the best thing to do is go to the emergency room immediately after the bite. Tell the hospital staff in detail about the circumstances of the bite, and they will decide whether you are at enough risk of rabies exposure to make PEP necessary.
Because most dogs have been vaccinated against rabies, there have been no cases of humans getting rabies from dog bites in Missouri in more than a decade. Most rabies cases in Missouri, and elsewhere in the United States, are transmitted through bats. Furthermore, cases of rabies in the United States, and in the Americas in general, are very rare. The only country in the Americas where there is more than one rabies case per million people per year is Bolivia. The countries with the highest incidence of dog-to-human rabies transmission are in tropical and subtropical areas of Africa and Asia.
Other Infectious Diseases That can be Transmitted by Dog Bites
Getting rabies from a dog bite in Missouri would truly be a freak occurrence, but other infectious diseases that can be transmitted by dog bites present a real risk. Bacterial infections caused by Streptococcus and Staphylococcus bacteria, as well as bacteria of the genus Pasteurella or the genus Capnocytophaga are common in people bitten by dogs. Often, the infection begins simply with the bite wound looking infected. It might remain red and swollen for more than a few days, and it may ooze pus. Then other symptoms, such as fever, respiratory symptoms, or digestive symptoms, can appear. You might think that you just have a cold or a stomach virus, but these infections can lead to meningitis, which can be fatal if untreated.
The bottom line is that, even though the risk of getting rabies from a dog bite in Missouri is very low, it is still important to go to the emergency room for treatment on the same day you get bitten. Antibiotics are effective against all the bacteria commonly transmitted by dog bites. Even if the doctors do not think you need antibiotics, and even if they are confident that your wounds will heal on their own without treatment, getting examined right after the bite incident also serves another purpose. It provides documentation of the time and nature of your injuries; this will be important if you have to file a dog bite lawsuit or help you settle your Kansas City dog bite case for fair compensation.
What are the symptoms of rabies?
The incubation period in humans from the time of exposure to the onset of illness can range anywhere from 5 days to more than a year, although the average incubation period is about 2 months. The following are the most common symptoms of rabies. Symptoms may include:
| Rabies: Stage 1 | Rabies: Stage 2 |
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The symptoms of rabies may look like other conditions or medical problems. Always see your healthcare provider for a diagnosis.
In animals, the direct fluorescent antibody test (dFA) done on brain tissue is most often used to detect rabies. Within a few hours, diagnostic labs can determine whether an animal is rabid and provide this information to medical professionals. These results may save a person from undergoing treatment if the animal is not rabid.
In humans, a number of tests are necessary to confirm or rule out rabies, as no single test can be used to rule out the disease with certainty. Tests are done on samples of serum, saliva, and spinal fluid. Skin biopsies may also be taken from the nape of the neck.
Can I Get Rabies if My Dog Bites Me? How to Treat Dog Bite Wound at Home? (WHO’s Information)
Thanks to widespread pet vaccinations, effective post-exposure treatment and the relative rarity of undetected bites by rabid animals, the number of human deaths from rabies in the United States caused has declined to an average of only one or two per year—far less than the number of human fatalities caused by lightning strikes. But this doesnt mean you shouldnt take precautions to protect yourself, your family and your pets. The best ways to guard against rabies:
Rabies (Lyssavirus) is an infectious disease that affects the central nervous system in mammals. Its transmitted through the saliva a few days before death when the animal “sheds” the virus. Rabies is not transmitted through the blood, urine or feces of an infected animal, nor is it spread airborne through the open environment. Because it affects the nervous system, most rabid animals behave abnormally.
In the “furious” form, wild animals may appear to be agitated, bite or snap at imaginary and real objects and drool excessively. In the “dumb” form, wild animals may appear tame and seem to have no fear of humans.
There are other signs, such as the animal appearing drunk or excessively wobbly, circling, seeming partially paralyzed, acting disorientated or mutilating itself. However, most of these signs can also be indicative of other diseases like distemper or lead poisoning. There are few behavioral signs that are telltale of rabies alone.
If a typically nocturnal animal, such as a raccoon or skunk, is active during the day and exhibiting abnormal behavior, you should seek advice from your local animal control, animal organization, wildlife rehabilitator or state wildlife agency.
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Any warm-blooded mammal can carry or contract rabies, but the primary carriers in North America are raccoons, skunks, bats, foxes and coyotes. Thanks to an increase in pet vaccinations, wildlife now account for more than 90 percent of all reported rabies cases.
Rabies tends to be more common in different species in different places, but is certainly not limited to these trends:
Federal and state wildlife officials have been vaccinating wildlife in many regions over the past two decades. They distribute vaccine-laden baits that the target animals eat and thereby vaccinate themselves. Right now, oral rabies vaccination of wildlife focuses on halting the spread of specific types of rabies in targeted carrier species. Its hoped that this tool can also shrink the diseases range.
Given all the media attention that rabies receives, it may be somewhat surprising to learn that very few people die from rabies nationwide each year. There are fewer than three fatalities each year nationwide, on average.
People who contracted rabies in the United States were mostly infected by a bat. Most didn’t even know they were bitten. Some may have been sleeping when bitten. Others handled a bat bare-handed without realizing they’d been potentially exposed to rabies. But don’t panic over every bat sighting. Less than one-half of one percent of all bats in North America carries rabies.
Although raccoons suffer from rabies more than any other mammal in the United States (about 35 percent of all animal rabies cases), only one human death from the raccoon strain of rabies has been recorded in the United States.
Despite the long odds of contracting rabies, the remote possibility of infection exists and should not be taken lightly:
Since its launch in 2007, World Rabies Day has helped educate over 200 million people and vaccinated millions of dogs through events in 150 countries. Globally, World Rabies Day is important because most deaths from rabies occur in countries with inadequate public health resources and limited access to preventive treatment. Since 1982, the World Health Organization has recommended vaccination—rather than removal—of free-roaming dogs to control rabies.