Aren’t they infectious for only 3-9 days before death?
Not starting treatment until after a ten day quarantine period is the official CDC recommendation. See table 3 in this document. From the text on page 15 of that report:
[QUOTE=Human Rabies Prevention — United States, 2008]
A healthy domestic dog, cat, or ferret that bites a person should be confined and observed for 10 days (128,137,138). Those that remain alive and healthy 10 days after a bite would not have been shedding rabies virus in their saliva and would not have been infectious at the time of the bite (25). All domestic dogs, cats, and ferrets kept as pets should be vaccinated against rabies. Even if they are not, such animals might still be confined and observed for 10 days after a bite to reliably determine the risk for rabies exposure for the person who was bitten. Any illness in the animal during the confinement period before release should be evaluated by a veterinarian and reported immediately to the local public health department. If signs suggestive of rabies develop, postexposure prophylaxis of the bite victim should be initiated. The animal should be euthanized and its head removed and shipped, under refrigeration, for examination by a qualified laboratory. If the biting animal is stray or unwanted, it should either be confined and observed for 10 days or euthanized immediately and submitted for rabies diagnosis (128).
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I think they’re infectious for like a week before they start drooling, and die a couple of days after that???
But the point was that you can’t tell if an animal is infectious just by looking to see if they are drooling at the time of the bite: that’s why you lock them up for a week.
“A week + 2 days” runs quite close to 10 days, seems like 20 days might have been a better buffer of margin for quarantine.
By the way, does the human body have any natural defenses against rabies, or is it a case of rabies into the body + no vaccination = death?
Pretty much. There is always an exception or two but without the vaccination, once the incubation period is over, you’re toast.
I don’t know where the discrepancy lies but even six is nothing to celebrate.
Out of curiosity, I asked a doctor how useful pre-exposure vaccines are, without rabies immunoglobin (RIG), as a makeshift substitute (post-bite) for traditional post-bite vaccination (with RIG).
He said “That would be like having the flu and then getting vaccinated. That would not work.”
So it’s all about the RIG? I’m confused.
Immunization takes time to develop – it’s your body creating antibodies to the virus, just like every other immunization. There is a pre-exposure vaccine for people just as there is for dogs and other animals. People in high exposure situations can/should get the pre-exposure vaccine. I and my staff get this because we work directly with wild animals, some of which may be rabies vector. This is believed to protect us from “casual exposures” – healthy-appearing raccoon sneezes in your face, or skunk scratches you, or you handle an animal which has just licked its fur (lots and lots of virus in saliva!) and you have cuts on your hand, etc. But if there is a serious exposure like a bite, or the animal you’ve been handling and thought was safe begins to display symptoms, it is still necessary to go through the post exposure treatment.
The post exposure treatment isn’t a vaccine, and the term has been used incorrectly throughout this thread. This treatment includes rabies immunoglobulin because this is the only way to fight the virus in the absence of antibodies manufactured by your body. And once you’ve been bitten, there isn’t time to grow your own. Your body will try. Exposure to the “real thing” virus triggers an antibody response just as much as exposure to the vaccine does. But the virus will kill you before your body makes enough antibodies. Hence the need for the post exposure treatment including RIG.
Contact Animal Control if you have not already. They will make SURE the animal is up-to-date on rabies vaccine, and tell you if not.
This is not really optional. In my jurisdiction at least, they HAVE to do this, you HAVE to contact them, and a doctor HAS TO report your bite wound to Animal Control.
There’s a system for this. Use it. This will put you at ease far better than reading nearly random opinions on the Internet.
I think the fact that the dog had a known owner is a good sign. That doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have rabies, and given it’s near 100% mortality rate, you’re wise to be cautious - by all means exhaust your efforts to make sure you don’t have it. But to reduce your anxiety a little, I’d suspect that the chances that this particular dog has rabies is probably quite low.
I had a similar scare about 15 years ago when I was living in Florida. A group of guys who seemed to like the fact that they had this angry mutt that growled at passersby suddenly sprang loose and dashed across the lawn to nip me in the leg and foot. It wasn’t a deep bite but it broke skin, and I knew that this is all it would take to contract rabies. The owners were irresponsible and I have no idea whether they actually vaccinated him or not but the fact that he was cared for (even if by assholes) made me feel a little better. And here I am today.
As CairoCarol pointed out, though, bacterial infections might be a different story, and I’d watch that relatively closely over the next few days and weeks. Any noticeable changes in how you feel, and I’d go see the doc ASAP.
Thanks. I contacted Animal Control 3 days ago, the day after the bite. I think they have put the dog in some kind of quarantine.
However, a vet also told me that even if a dog is rabies-vaccinated, it can still spread rabies, because the vaccine only suppresses the rabies virus in a dog (if the virus is present,) it doesn’t actually eradicate the virus, and he also said that asymptomatic dogs can still spread it…so I suppose it is technically possible that a vaccinated dog would spread rabies, but not likely.
Medical advice is best suited to IMHO.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
I am also surprised that AC wasn’t called by the medical staff. I do cat rescue and TNR. As a result, I handle a LOT of cats. Every time I’ve been bitten badly enough to get treatment, AC is always contacted and the cat is always quarantined for 10 days.
Due to rabies vaccinations being required for dogs and cats country wide, the chances of actually getting rabies from someone’s pet is very rare. The 10 day quarantine before starting treatment appears to be an effective part of the treatment itself.
I’ve never had to get the treatment and I have heard that its much easier now than in the past, but that its still very uncomfortable. Why go through it if you don’t need to?
I don’t think you are going to die, but like the others have said, do watch for infection.