:eek: Get the rabies shots in Thailand. What you save will pay for airfare and a month’s entertainment.
What’s this about rabid monkeys in Thailand? Do they get a different strain of rabies?
Last summer I came across a stray kitten and it didn’t end well. I went to pick it up (no clue what I was thinking) and it retaliated with every sharp object it had access to–including it’s teeth. Left darling little teeth marks on my hand.
No way was I risking dying from rabies, even if the possibility was rather low, so two days after the incident when my hand was looking red and a bit puffy, I went to the ER to start antibiotics and the rabies series. (I did call my drs. office who informed me that I should just go to the ER because the ER was the only place that had the rabies shots.)
A series of four shots (all in the arm), a round of antibiotics, and a tetanus booster and I was done.
Never did find the kitten again, but at least I didn’t die from rabies.
Not anymore. You have limited chances using a treatments plan calling for a multi week long induced coma amongst other things.
I echo it. Take your wife to get the shot.
I was told at the time that it was permanent.
However, if new variations emerge, or I go to Thailand, I would need to get a set of different shots. The doctor at the time told me that even though the shots were considered good for a lifetime, if I got bit by another possibly or clearly rabid animal that I would still get shots.
And I don’t know anything about the mokeys in Thailand. Thank you for not asking.
I also note that you didn’t as about how pretty the vaccine was. That was very thoughtful.
(It was purple and seems to glow from within with an eerie supernatural glow as if it contained the end of humanity inside a fragile glass vial…)
I am not a doctor. I am not your doctor–I don’t even play one on TV. That being said, if a dog or cat need to get a rabies shot every year, I’d take a wild guess and say that the rabies shot series in humans is good for about one year.
On my numerous trips to the ER, I didn’t think to ask.
In Pennsylvania a shelter housing an unvaccinated dog (let alone one with exposure to the public) would be in hot water. Even if the dog is only going to be held 72 hours and then be euthaised if not claimed, gets vaccinated.
ETA: there is actually a ten day grace period…
Wrong on both counts. Currently, most dog vaccines are considered valid for at least 3 years. It is possible they may even last longer, but the studies have only been done for up to 3-4 years. Many cat vaccines can also be 3 year vaccines, but because cats have an issue with vaccine-associated tumors, they also have a vaccine that has less adjuvants (suspected to be the cause of the tumors) and is therefore only validated (so far) for 1 year.
IOW, dogs and cats only need annual vaccines IF they get vaccinated with specific 1-year only vaccines OR if they live in an area where the law/ordinance hasn’t been ammended to reflect medical advances.
Vaccines for humans have been found to last quite a while. If you’re in a risky profession (hi, I’m a veterinarian and I work at a diagnostic lab), it is suggested you get your titers checked every 2-3 years. I haven’t had mine checked in a while because I moved to a place that is considered “rabies-free”. But last time I did get mine checked (about 3-4 years ago), the titers were still in the range considered “protective”, and that was already at least 7 years since I got the series.
Depending on where in the US you live, it is not as simple as go to the ER and get the series of rabies treatment started. A few years ago there was a huge problem because the vaccine became scarce (one of the companies shut down production and the other one couldn’t keep with demand). This lead to some behind the scenes discussion on assessing risk, delaying treatment/pre-exposure vaccinations, and dispensing the treatment.
Analysis of whether the animal is rabid or not is NOT (should NOT) be time-consuming, especially if they know the dog bit a human. At my previous workplace, I did a necropsy on an animal, sent the brain, and about 45 minutes later I got the technician coming in person to tell me the animal was positive. This was not the official state lab, she would send the sample to double confirm at the state level, but they were pretty much 100% in agreement with the official results. If they euthanize the dog today, and send the samples right away to the lab, they may get the results today or tomorrow, at the latest.
Yes, probably based on the “if it doesn’t show symptoms by 10 days maybe it doesn’t have any” and perhaps most importantly “it may be euthanized anyways before 10 days (lack of space, aggression, other illness), so why waste resources there.”
Also, they may vary by state. I had to do a rotation on a Louisiana shelter, and at the time (8 years ago), many animals didn’t get vaccines. It all depended from where they got the animals, how long they had been there, what was their adoption status (and perhaps previous vaccination history), and whether they were going to be moved from the general area to the no-kill area.
Of course, with only 5 out of 36 attempts resulting in a live person at the end of treatment, and all of the survivors showing some degree of neurological damage… I’d rather get the traditional rabies shots.
There is the possibility of an allergic reaction to the rabies series, but even in those cases they still recommend getting the shots. With a crash cart for anaphylaxis set up next to the person, just in case it’s needed. So far as I know, it’s the only vaccine series where allergy doesn’t automatically rule out getting them.
This so sounds like something Encyclopedia Brown would know.
The Milwaukee Protocol is specifically for people that have already begun to show symptoms of rabies. It’s either try this or die. When they talk about how 1 person has survived rabies after showing symptoms (or maybe it’s up to 5 now), it’s because of this method.
If you want to go the ‘traditional route’ you need to do it before symptoms start to show up.
Update:
Talked to an urgent care and they weren’t too concerned about rabies, due to the circumstances, only infection from the dog bite.
This morning, talked to the Animal Warden for that county (in the same place as the shelter). He was also not too concerned due to the circumstances, but the dog had already been placed in a 10 day observation and will contact us if anything appears bad. After which the dog will be put down
Correct. Which is why, despite being at high risk of an adverse reaction to the traditional rabies shots, I’d prefer them over a wait-and-see attitude. I’m much more likely to survive the pre-symptom treatment without adverse and/or lingering problems than the post-symptom induced coma treatment.
Jesus, are you kidding? After I got nipped by a cur 12 or 13 years ago after I let my vaccine lapse, I got the full course at the Thai Red Cross, and it was quite less than US$100.
You’re in Bangkok.
Here in the US, there’s this thing called “price gouging” that’s been elevated to an art form.
My vet said that annual doses are more of a legal requirement than a medical one.
I forget how long she said we could actually go w/o a booster.
There has also been recently, like I mentioned in the previous post, a shortage in the vaccines that are approved in the US for treatment. Which diminish the supply even more.
Deereman, thanks for the update. That is what I expected, based on what you said. You should also perhaps just keep track, maybe call again at the end of this week or early next week.
Check your state/county/city, as some have changed their rules and align them with medical advances.
Also, the answer to your last question was answered above (3-4 years, usually 3).
East Baton Rouge parish used to have an annual vaccination requirement up until recently, but they came around in mid-2000s and changed it to annual registration required, but proof of rabies vaccination every three years. Not sure if they have changed it since 2008, but I doubt.
No, the vaccine in humans is good for 10 years. And it may last even longer. That was one reason it was easy to let mine lapse – once a year I’d remember, but a decade from now?
In fact, I think I’ve let it lapse again. 
For what it’s worth, I was bitten by a dog* and my vet said he typically finds dog bites to be clean and have a low incidence of infection, compared to the bites of cats and especially humans. He was relatively unworried about the possibility of infection and did not require me to take antibiotics. Everything turned out fine.
*The bite was totally my own fault, which I felt really bad about. The human wasn’t comfortable with me petting the dog, but I insisted, then reached over his head suddenly while he was focused on a treat in my other hand. He took it as a threat.