Is it possible to transmit rabies from person to person?

What is rabies and why is this disease dangerous?

Rabies is an acute infectious disease of warm-blooded animals and humans, usually fatal.

The disease is caused by the rabies virus, which affects the brain, causing irreversible changes in it.

Rabies is registered in almost all countries - according to the World Health Organization, more than 55,000 people die from rabies every year in the world.

This disease has been known since ancient times, and although it was described in the 5th century BC, by 2005 there were only three documented cases of recovery.

In 2005, the first case of successful treatment of rabies was recorded in the United States - a group of American doctors developed an experimental treatment method called the “Milwaukee Protocol”, and Gina Gies, who received this treatment, a girl bitten by a bat, recovered.

Subsequently, this technique was used in different countries in the treatment of another 35 people with rabies, but only 4 of them recovered.

According to experts, the effectiveness of treatment according to the Milwaukee Protocol has not been fully proven, and in general the effectiveness of this method is recognized to be no more than 20%, moreover, this method is still experimental and very expensive.

That is why, at the moment, rabies is considered to be an incurable disease with an almost 100% fatal outcome.

Many residents of large cities mistakenly think that this danger does not concern them. Unfortunately, this is not at all the case - according to Rospotrebnadzor, the epizootic situation in Moscow regarding rabies constantly remains tense. This is due to the fact that there are many active natural foci of rabies around the capital. Thus, in 2013-2016 alone, about 50 cases of this disease were registered in animals in Moscow, and according to Rosselkhoznadzor, only from February 1 to February 18, 2021, 166 cases of rabies were recorded in Russia.

Symptoms and diagnosis of rabies

Rabies is an insidious disease and is easy to miss. First, an animal infected with a virus becomes infectious before clinical signs of the disease and characteristic changes in behavior appear. And its bite (and even more so its licking) can easily not be recognized as dangerous, requiring anti-rabies prophylaxis, especially if it is a familiar animal or your own pet. Secondly, rabies has a fairly long incubation period, and an episode of contact with an infected animal may be completely forgotten by the time symptoms appear. Thirdly, the symptoms of rabies are nonspecific and do not allow one to unambiguously diagnose the disease based on clinical manifestations alone (especially if the patient does not remember the bite).

” The target for the rabies virus is the nervous system. The virus migrates from the site of the bite to the brain not through blood vessels, but through nerve cells and their processes; its spread rate is quite low. This explains the long (typically) incubation period of the disease.

Symptoms of damage to the nervous system appear in a person or animal only after the virus has “crawled” to the brain, managed to multiply in its cells and began its journey through the body in the opposite direction - from the central nervous system to the periphery, into muscle tissue, salivary glands , nerve endings. Once symptoms of brain damage appear, the disease is incurable.

” Diagnosis of rabies by laboratory methods at the initial stages of the disease is difficult, since at the stage of migration from the site of the bite to the brain, the virus remains “invisible” to the immune system, and there are no specific antibodies in the blood.

At the stage of pronounced clinical manifestations, methods for diagnosing rabies are based on isolating the virus or its nucleic acids from infected tissues; a test for the presence of specific antibodies in the cerebrospinal fluid is also used. In the post-mortem diagnosis of rabies in humans and animals, the classic sign is Negri bodies, present in the cytoplasm of neurons in brain preparations, but currently the most common and reliable diagnostic method is the fluorescent antibody test.

The incubation period of rabies is on average 60-90 days, but can proceed quickly (one or several weeks) or, conversely, for a long time (up to a year, and in exceptional cases longer).

” The duration of the incubation period depends on the location of infection; in general, the closer to the head, the sooner the virus reaches the brain, the shorter the incubation period (the most dangerous situation is bites on the face and neck).

The innervation of the damaged area is also important; the more nerve endings there are, the shorter the incubation period. Other factors that influence the length of the incubation period are the size of the wound (the wider the wound and the deeper the bites, the shorter the incubation period) and the concentration of the virus in the saliva of the animal from which the infection occurred.

There are two main forms of rabies. The encephalitic form is typical for humans (classical, clinical manifestations are encephalitis, meningoencephalitis), according to WHO, it accounts for 80% of human cases.

” The first symptoms of the encephalitis form are fever, as well as pain, burning or tingling at the site of the bite.

As the disease progresses, hyperactivity appears, periods of excitement alternate with a normal state, and hydro- or aerophobia develops. Without treatment, death occurs a few days after the onset of symptoms of damage to the central nervous system.

The paralytic form is more common among animals, but also occurs in humans. Official data on the prevalence of this form of rabies in humans may be underestimated due to atypical (and nonspecific) symptoms, as well as diagnostic errors.

” The paralytic form is characterized by numbness of the muscles at the site of infection, followed by gradually spreading paralysis. Death occurs from respiratory failure.

Rabies is incurable once symptoms of the disease appear. Only isolated cases of successful healing at this stage are known throughout the world, and in each of the recorded cases, the infection occurred from a bat. Experimental treatment for late-stage rabies (Milwaukee protocol) involves placing the patient in an induced coma. The first case of complete recovery from rabies after the onset of symptoms of damage to the nervous system occurred in 2004 in the USA, the patient was fifteen-year-old Gina Gies, who became ill with rabies after being bitten by a bat. Subsequent documented episodes of this approach to treat rabies have shown extremely low effectiveness. Perhaps in the future the technique will be improved and show good results, but it is too early to say that humanity has invented a way to cure rabies.

At the moment, there are no cases of successful treatment of rabies at the stage of severe symptoms of brain damage in case of infection from carnivorous animals (dogs, cats, ferrets, foxes, raccoons, badgers, hedgehogs, raccoon dogs, etc.). And yet, in the modern world, you can easily save yourself from rabies if you take action as soon as possible after you are bitten or licked by an animal, wild or domestic, about which you do not have reliable information about whether it has been vaccinated against rabies.

What animals can get rabies?

All mammals and birds can get rabies. The main reservoir of rabies in nature is wild predatory animals - foxes, wolves, raccoon dogs; There is also a hypothesis that rodents are the natural reservoir of the virus. Bears, lynxes, and moose get sick less often.

For our region, foxes and hedgehogs pose the greatest danger.

Rabies on a global scale

Rabies is a deadly infectious disease that affects warm-blooded animals, mainly mammals (including humans) and less commonly birds. The causative agent is the rabies virus (Lyssavirus of the Rhabdoviridae family). Different sources indicate different numbers of naturally occurring species (genotypes) of this group of viruses (7, 11, 80), and all of them are dangerous to humans.

“Rabies is widespread throughout the globe, covering 150 countries on all continents except Antarctica, but the vast majority of deaths (95%) are registered in Asia and Africa.

At the international level, regional rabies control programs are monitored and coordinated by the following organizations: WHO, the World Organization for Animal Health, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the Global Rabies Alliance, which have established the United Against Rabies partnership. ) to develop a common strategy, the goal of which is zero human deaths from rabies by 2030.

How do you get rabies?

Infection of a person or pet occurs when a sick animal bites or infected saliva gets on damaged skin or mucous membrane. Contact is dangerous not only with a “rabid” animal, but also with an animal carrying the virus. The virus is detected in saliva 8-10 days before obvious clinical signs of the disease appear.

One of the common routes of infection is when unvaccinated dogs are taken out into the wild, where they attack infected hedgehogs.

Not only “dacha animals” are at risk, but also those who are never taken outside the city. After all, about 800 wild foxes live in Moscow, as well as hedgehogs, rodents and other fauna that your pet can encounter not only in the park, but also just while walking in the yard.

Myths about rabies: how you can and cannot get infected

Over the past 2 decades, the number of cases of referrals to infectious disease specialists with phobias associated with the fear of contracting rabies has increased significantly. Panic often conjures up the most incredible ways. However, there are clear criteria that determine the risks of the disease.

Rabies - why is everyone afraid of it?

Everyone knows that rabies is a terrible disease that cannot be treated, and can be contracted through the bite of a sick animal. Most often, the source of the virus is foxes, less often dogs, cats, hedgehogs, bats, horses, birds and other animals that contain the pathogen in their saliva. There is no cure for the disease and the outcome is always fatal. Every year, cases of rabies are recorded in different areas. How does a person become infected with rabies?

• when bitten by a sick animal;
• when saliva gets on mucous membranes or damaged skin.

In this case, it is necessary that the wound has damaged the skin until it bleeds. The only way to protect against the disease is vaccination. In case of even minimal risk, you need to go to the emergency room as early as possible.

Symptoms and signs of infection

The typical form includes the stage of initial manifestations with headaches, nausea, vomiting, and pain at the site of the bite. Then aggression, fear of hydrophobia, convulsions and spasms appear. After this, the patient dies from cardiac or respiratory arrest.

There are atypical forms that occur without paralysis and hydrophobia; patients are quiet and apathetic. In children, all stages usually pass in 3–5 days, i.e. the duration of illness is shortened.

When and how to get vaccinated against rabies

There are special rules establishing the rules for vaccination. Vaccinations are given in the following cases:

• compression when biting open areas of the skin, minor scratches or abrasions without bleeding;
• one or more bites that penetrate the skin or scratches;
• licking damaged skin;
• wounds caused by birds' beaks;
• damage to the skin by claws;
• contamination of mucous membranes with saliva.

In all cases, except the first, a special immunoglobulin is first introduced, then a course of vaccinations begins.

For vaccination, vaccines of different names, but identical in composition, are used, usually “KOKAV”. The standard regimen is used, injections are given on days 1, 3, 7, 14, 30 and 90 from treatment. Sometimes changes may be made at the discretion of the doctor. During the vaccination period, you should not drink alcohol-containing liquids - they reduce the immune defense against rabies, increase the likelihood of allergies, and put a strain on the liver. A sick animal dies in a short time - up to 10 days. For a person, this period varies depending on the location of the bite - the closer it is to the head, the faster the death occurs.

If the bitten animal is domestic and does not look suspicious, and its owner claims that it has been vaccinated, then it will be monitored for 10 days. In the event of his sudden death, they begin a course of vaccinations; if everything is fine with the pet, then vaccination is not required, because he is healthy. If vaccination has begun and the animal is alive after 10 days, the course of vaccination can be interrupted. According to WHO, vaccination is not necessary in the following cases:

• touching an animal or feeding it;
• animals licking intact skin;
• contact of intact skin with secretions of rabid animals or humans.

Vaccinations are not carried out only in the case of truly confirmed facts of absence of damage to the skin. However, prevention is extremely important, so often such contacts with an animal suspected of rabies are regarded as a threat of possible infection, and vaccination is carried out.

Myths about rabies

The terrible disease has become overgrown with various rumors and beliefs:

1. The larger the animal, the greater the danger. It makes no difference who bites - a wolf or a cat, the point is one thing - the virus must get into the blood.
2. All people with rabies are afraid of water. This is not so - such fear develops in less than half of the cases.
3. You can become infected if the saliva of a sick animal gets on your skin with the wind. No you can not.
4. If an animal's saliva gets on things and dries, then you can become infected by touching the area with your hand. This is not possible, the virus dies when it dries out, but persists for a long time in corpses at subzero temperatures.
5. Rabies can be contracted through food. No, the virus is not transmitted by consuming milk or cooked meat from sick animals.
6. The disease is transmitted by bat bites. Yes, this is true, but it is only relevant for vampire mice living in South Africa.

When to see a doctor

In all doubtful cases, you need to wash the wound, treat it with peroxide and immediately go to the nearest emergency room. The surgeon will examine the wound surface and decide whether there is an indication for vaccination or not. You can’t take risks – we are talking about a threat to life.

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Incubation period

The incubation period (the latent period from the moment the virus enters the body until the symptoms of the disease appear) lasts from 9 days to several months and depends on the virulence (strength) and amount of the virus that has entered the body, the location of the bite, the age of the animal, and the state of its immune system. Typically, clinical signs appear 15-25 days after infection.

The deeper and more extensive the wound, the greater the amount of virus that could enter it with saliva. And the more rich in nerve endings the bite site is, the faster the disease manifests itself, since the virus enters the brain through nerve fibers.

The most dangerous bites are in the area of ​​the head and arms, since there are a significant number of nerves there, and the path of the virus to the brain is shorter, and the incubation period is correspondingly shorter.

Once in the body, the virus attaches itself to nerve cells, begins to multiply and moves along the nerve trunks in the spinal cord and further into the brain. The virus can also spread through the bloodstream, as evidenced by infection of fetuses in pregnant animals with rabies.

The multiplied virus enters the salivary glands along the nerve fibers and is released with saliva, and it has been established that the virus is detected in saliva 8-10 days before the first clinical signs appear, which is why preventive measures after a bite must be started as early as possible.

How can a domestic cat become infected with rabies?

Rabies is a dangerous disease caused by the Neuroryctes rabid virus.
The main route of transmission is through the saliva of an infected animal. A way to cure rabies has not been found to date. The only way to prevent the spread of the virus is vaccination. To decide whether animals that live in an apartment need vaccination, owners need to know whether an indoor cat can get rabies if it never goes outside, and how infection occurs. Rabies (hydrophobia, hydrophobia) is an inflammation of the brain caused by a specific virus.

The length of the incubation period of the disease depends on the size of the animal and the location where the bite was made. Since the rabies virus infects the brain, the time before the first symptoms appear directly depends on the speed at which the virus passes through the nerve trunks and perineural space in the central nervous system. The disease will manifest itself most quickly if infection occurs through a wound on the head, face, neck, hands (front paws). The longest incubation period is for bites on the legs (in animals - the hind legs).

The incubation period of the disease is:

1. 1. In animals - from five days to six months. On average, one to two months pass from infection to the appearance of the first symptoms. Cases of incubation periods exceeding one year have been extremely rarely recorded.
2. 2. In humans - from one month to a year. Cases of the disease manifesting itself even three years after the bite have been described.

The disease will manifest itself most quickly in a kitten or puppy. Causes:

In animals, there are three stages of disease development:

1. 1. Prodromal (early) period. Characterized by a slight increase in body temperature. The animal's behavior changes, it becomes lethargic, inactive, or restless and aggressive. The early period lasts from one to three days.
2. 2. The period of height (aggression). Lasts from 1 to 4 days. The animal reacts sharply to external stimuli: loud sounds, light. His salivation increases and hydrophobia develops: the sounds of pouring water and attempts to drink cause spasms and convulsions. The animal refuses food, or, conversely, eats everything, even objects not intended for food. The animal shows aggression, rushes at people or becomes lethargic and tries to hide. During this period, wild animals exhibit behavior that is unusual for them and come close to humans.
3. 3. Paralysis. The final stage lasts from one to three days. The animal gradually becomes paralyzed. The stage ends in death due to paralysis of the respiratory muscles.

In rare cases, some stages may be skipped. For example, with the paralytic form of rabies, there are no early and aggressive periods. In such cases, the clinical picture becomes blurred and diagnosis becomes difficult.

Many wild animals, having contracted rabies, show a previously unusual craving for humans: they come close to people and can take food from their hands. Foxes are especially dangerous. You should remember this and be careful.

The hydrophobia virus is found in large quantities in the saliva of an infected animal and in the brain. It appears in saliva three to ten days before the onset of the first symptoms. A ten-day quarantine for an animal suspected of rabies is based on this fact.

The bodies of dead rabid animals are dangerous. The virus remains viable in their brain for a long time. The risk is especially high at low ambient temperatures. In winter, at sub-zero temperatures, the pathogen is “preserved” and remains dangerous for a long time.

Other biological fluids - blood, tears, urine, and feces of an infected animal - do not contain the virus.

Hydrophobia is transmitted to humans or other animals if the virus enters damaged skin or mucous membranes. Rabiologists identify three main routes of infection:

• bite of an infected animal;
• salivation of damaged skin, wounds, mucous membranes;
• aerosol route.

Rabies can be transmitted to a person through a scratch if the cat licked its paw shortly before.
This route of transmission is unusual for dogs. Therefore, if a cat scratches, the person will need the same course of vaccinations as for the bite. Currently, there is debate among scientists about the likelihood of transmission of the virus during organ transplantation. Too little material has yet been accumulated to draw precise conclusions.

Among wild animals, foxes and wolves are the most likely to suffer from rabies, and among domestic animals, dogs and cats are the most likely to suffer from rabies. The greatest danger is posed by stray dogs and foxes that come to populated areas in the spring-summer season.

Much less often, small animals and rodents carry rabies: mice, rats, ferrets, gophers and others. This is due to the fact that after being bitten by a larger predator, the animal almost always dies before it can become a carrier of the virus. But it is impossible to completely exclude the possibility of contracting hydrophobia from them.

The likelihood of infection depends on many factors:

• bite sites;
• the type of animal that bit;
• the amount of virus ingested;
• the victim's immunity status.

A pet that never leaves the house is much less likely to become infected with rabies than its free-roaming counterparts. But it still exists. The most dangerous situations:

1. 1. Bite or salivation by an infected animal that has entered the house. Most often these are mice or rats. The likelihood increases in the private sector. Although residents of high-rise buildings are not protected from uninvited guests.
2. 2. Catching and eating wild infected animals by domestic animals. If a cat catches and eats a rabid mouse, the virus in its brain will be dangerous. There may be sores in the cat's mouth. Mucous membranes are also a vulnerable place.

The likelihood of infection through foreign objects that may have been in contact with a sick animal is minimal. Rabiologists and microbiologists accept it as equal to zero. Therefore, there is no need to be afraid of bringing rabies on shoes and other items from the street.

Although the likelihood of contracting hydrophobia through outdoor shoes is minimal, many other dangerous diseases are transmitted this way. A domestic cat, after sniffing boots or boots, runs the risk of contracting calcivirosis or panleukopenia brought on by them. These infections are extremely dangerous for cats.

The virus that causes rabies is very unstable and quickly dies in the external environment. The following table shows the factors that neutralize it and the time of inactivation of the virus when exposed to them.

At low temperatures the virus remains active for a long time. Metabolic processes slow down, and the pathogen is preserved. At 4 degrees below zero, the virus will be active for several months. If the test material is frozen at -20 degrees, virulence will remain even after five years. Substances such as iodine, phenol, and antibiotics do not destroy dangerous pathogens.

In the brain of an animal that has died from rabies, the virus remains active from several days to three months. It is especially dangerous during the cold season. Therefore, you should not allow your pets to pick up foreign objects from the ground while walking.

Rabies can be confirmed by a section of the brain only in a specially equipped laboratory. To do this, the suspicious animal is killed.

It is impossible to detect the virus in a living animal using a blood or urine test. Therefore, cats that have bitten a person or other animal are usually quarantined first. They sit in isolated cages for 10 days. Access to them is prohibited to everyone except employees who feed the animals and clean up after them, observing all safety precautions. If after 10 days signs of hydrophobia do not appear, it means that the animal was healthy at the time of the bite, and the person does not need vaccination.

Several years ago, a new diagnostic method was developed: taking an imprint from the cornea of ​​the eye and detecting an antigen to the rabies virus on it. The method is already being used, but the research has not yet been completed. Therefore, confirmation using the first method is almost always required.

To date, no treatment for rabies has been developed. If symptoms of the disease occur, then in one hundred percent of cases it will end in death.

In world practice, several cases of human cures from rabies have been recorded. But, since laboratory tests were not carried out, it is not known for certain whether it was hydrophobia. Therefore, you cannot rely on this knowledge.

The only way to prevent the development of the disease is to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

To protect your pet from a deadly disease, it is better to vaccinate it in advance. A kitten can start receiving vaccinations from the age of three months. The second vaccine is given when the cat is one year old. Then revaccination should be carried out annually. Timely vaccination will reliably protect your pet from contracting a dangerous disease.

There is post-exposure prophylaxis for animals. The vaccine is given after suspicious contact that poses a risk of rabies. This way you can prevent the virus from entering the central nervous system.

• washing the wound immediately after contact with a soap solution for 10 minutes;
• administration of rabies immunoglobulin;
• introduction of a special vaccine.

Such post-exposure vaccines for animals have already been developed and used in the USA and many European countries. However, in our country it is extremely difficult and sometimes impossible to get them. Therefore, the most reliable way to prevent rabies in pets is annual preventive vaccination.

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How does the disease manifest itself?

Different animal species may exhibit different clinical signs of rabies. In dogs, hydrophobia usually does not occur. Cats most often experience a violent form of rabies - they become aggressive towards people and other animals, try to run away from home and die within 3-6 days. But foxes, on the contrary, often lose caution, stop being afraid of people, are drawn to people and behave like tame ones.

Remember that if a wild animal does not run away from humans and behaves unusually, it can be suspected that it has rabies.

Dogs exhibit the most typical symptoms of rabies. It is customary to distinguish five forms of the disease:

1. Violent - lasts 6-11 days and occurs in three stages, turning into one another. In the first, prodromal or melancholic, minor changes in behavior appear, the dog becomes apathetic, avoids people, hides or, on the contrary, becomes overly affectionate, its appetite worsens, swallowing may be difficult and drooling may appear. At this stage, the dog is already contagious. The second stage, the stage of excitement or mania, is characterized by a sharp change in behavior: the dog is aggressive, a perversion of appetite is often observed, the dog swallows inedible objects, sticks, stones, etc., bites people and animals that get in its way, paralysis of the larynx develops; the dog is unable to eat and drink and the disease progresses to the third, final, paralytic stage, which is characterized by progressive paralysis and ends in the death of the animal.
2. Quiet, or paralytic - occurs in 2-4 days, the dog is not aggressive, paralysis of the lower jaw, pharynx and hind limbs is pronounced.
3. Atypical - characteristic symptoms are not expressed, the stage of excitation is absent, exhaustion and gastroenteritis may be observed.
4. Abortive, in which at the beginning of the second stage the disease suddenly stops and the animal is cured. This rare and little-studied form of the disease accounts for only 1-2% of all cases.
5. The recurrent form is characterized by the fact that after an apparent recovery, the symptoms of the disease reappear, and such alternations are observed 2-3 times at short intervals. The return form also ends with the death of the animal.

It is known that not everyone bitten by a rabid animal gets sick, but do not delude yourself - this percentage is small from 1 to 8%

After the symptoms of the disease appear, a person dies within 5-8, occasionally 10-12 days; the lifespan of a sick animal is even shorter - 2-6 days.

Prevention

Elimination of rabies in dogs

Rabies is a vaccine-preventable disease. Vaccination of dogs represents the most cost-effective strategy for preventing rabies in humans. Vaccination of dogs reduces mortality due to rabies and reduces the need for AEDs as part of medical care for dog bite victims.

Rabies Awareness and Dog Bite Prevention

Dog behavior education and bite prevention among both children and adults is a critical extension of the rabies vaccination program and can reduce both the incidence of rabies in humans and the financial burden associated with treatment for dog bites. Raising awareness of rabies prevention and control in communities includes education and dissemination of information about responsible pet ownership, dog bite prevention, and immediate response after a bite. Participation and ownership of the program at the community level enhances outreach and uptake of key messages.

Preventive immunization of people

There are vaccines intended for humans for preventive immunization before contact with animals. They are recommended for people involved in certain high-risk activities, such as laboratory workers working with live rabies viruses and other rabies-causing viruses (lyssaviruses), and those professionally or non-professionally involved in activities where direct contact with bats, predators or other mammals that may act as carriers of infection.

Preventive immunization is also recommended for people traveling to remote areas affected by rabies who plan to spend a lot of time outdoors, caving or mountaineering. People traveling long distances or moving permanently to areas with a high risk of rabies should be vaccinated if local access to rabies drugs is limited. Finally, the feasibility of immunizing children living in or visiting remote, high-risk areas should be considered. Children may suffer more serious bites when playing with animals or may not report bites.

Diagnosis and treatment

There is no cure for rabies and sick animals are destroyed.

The final diagnosis is usually made after a post-mortem examination of the brain of an animal that has died from the disease for the presence of Babes-Negri bodies - cellular inclusions found in the cytoplasm of nerve cells during rabies.

If you suspect that an animal has rabies, you must notify the state veterinary service at your place of residence or the regional station for combating animal diseases, and by decision of the veterinarian, the animal is sent to quarantine, which takes place within the established time limits in accordance with sanitary and veterinary rules and standards.

Since rabies is a particularly dangerous disease, delivery of the animal to quarantine and subsequent quarantine are free.

Restrictive measures are imposed on areas unaffected by rabies - you cannot take dogs and cats out, hold exhibitions, etc.

Restrictions are lifted 2 months after the last case of the disease.

Treatment and prevention

The danger of the disease is that if symptoms of rabies appear in a person, death is almost inevitable. To prevent the development of the disease, vaccination is urgently carried out.

The disease is diagnosed in a clinical setting. The doctor studies the history of the disease (whether there have been animal bites or contact with them), checks the patient’s symptoms. The diagnosis is confirmed if rabies virus antigens are detected in the imprint of the cornea or skin biotopes. The presence of antibodies to the virus in the blood serum is also checked.

Treatment of a person infected with rabies is usually carried out in the intensive care unit. In this case, depending on the course of the disease, active supportive therapy is used (anticonvulsants, painkillers, sleeping pills, etc.).

Important: if you are bitten by a dog and there is a suspicion that it was infected with the rabies virus, you should immediately consult a doctor. Wash the wound with soapy water, treat it with hydrogen peroxide and go to the hospital.

Remember that delaying going to the clinic can cost you your life - vaccination is effective only if it was done no later than two weeks after the bite. Observe the dog - if within 10 days it does not show signs of rabies, then vaccination can be stopped. But do not forget to coordinate your actions with your doctor.

Prevention. How to protect your pet?

The only way to protect your pet from rabies is timely vaccination.

Once clinical signs of the disease appear, vaccination is no longer effective.

In our country, only inactivated rabies vaccines are approved for use; such vaccines do not contain live viruses, so it is, in principle, impossible for an animal to contract rabies as a result of using such a vaccine, contrary to common “horror stories.”

Currently, there are quite a large number of rabies vaccines, both domestic and foreign produced. They can be either monovalent - only against rabies, or polyvalent (complex), protecting against rabies and a number of other diseases. All rabies vaccines are highly effective; your doctor will advise which vaccine is best for your pet.

Dogs and cats are usually vaccinated from 12 weeks of age. However, if there is a real threat of disease, the animal can be vaccinated earlier than the specified age, with repeated vaccination after it reaches 3 or 6 months.

Subsequent revaccination is carried out annually. Immunity after vaccination is formed in 3-4 weeks.

Undesirable side reactions of the body to the administration of the rabies vaccine are possible, but fortunately, they are quite rare and in this case the benefit of administering the vaccine many times outweighs the risk.

Despite the fact that the instructions for some imported vaccines indicate possible revaccination times against rabies after 2-3 years, according to the legislation of our country, it is necessary to vaccinate animals annually, otherwise problems may arise when exporting the animal abroad, or if your dog is or bite.

Only clinically healthy animals can be vaccinated; 10-14 days before vaccination it is necessary to carry out deworming.

It is necessary to vaccinate animals against rabies only in licensed veterinary clinics, since only in this case you will receive the necessary documents on vaccinations.

During primary vaccination, a veterinary passport is issued for the animal indicating the timing of vaccinations, the name and series of the vaccine administered; In the future, information about subsequent vaccinations will also be entered there. This is a necessary document for any trips with a dog, visits to exhibitions; it is on the basis of the veterinary passport that the animal is issued Certificate No. 1 for transporting animals in public land and air transport.

To obtain a certificate of form No. 1, the animal must be vaccinated against rabies no less than 30 days before the planned departure date, but no more than one year.

This certificate is valid for 5 days.

In accordance with the law of the Russian Federation and the rules for keeping dogs and cats, all these animals must have a veterinary passport with notes on all necessary vaccinations, regardless of whether they are taken somewhere or simply kept at home.

Transmission of infection

Infection in humans usually occurs as a result of a deep bite or scratch inflicted by an animal that has rabies, with 99% of transmissions to humans occurring from rabid dogs. Africa and Asia have the heaviest burden of human rabies, and these regions account for 95% of rabies deaths occurring worldwide.

In the Americas, bats are now the main source of infection in most human deaths from rabies, as transmission from dogs has largely been interrupted in this region. In addition, bat rabies is emerging as a new threat to human health in Australia and Western Europe. Human deaths resulting from contact with foxes, raccoons, skunks, jackals, mongooses and other species of wild predatory animals that carry rabies are very rare. There is no evidence to support the transmission of rabies through rodent bites.

Transmission of infection can also occur if infectious material (usually saliva) comes into direct contact with mucous membranes or fresh wounds on a person's skin. Human-to-human transmission through a bite is theoretically possible, but has never been confirmed.

Transmission of rabies from inhalation of aerosols containing the virus or from transplantation of infected organs occurs very rarely. Humans have never been infected with rabies by eating raw meat or other animal tissue.

Treatment

The doctor’s first task is to conduct an urgent diagnosis. In some cases, an examination and knowledge that the person was bitten by a stray or wild animal is sufficient. Sometimes blood may be taken from the victim to conduct a minimal test, or the lining of the eye may be examined. After this, treatment is prescribed. You need to start it right away, because... When the first symptoms appear, the probability of death is one hundred percent, even with the use of all drugs.

The patient is started to be injected with a special drug “KOKAV” according to a certain scheme: day 0, day 3, day 7, day 14, day 30 and day 90. The injection is given in the deltoid muscle, and in young children the vaccine is administered through the thigh. The dosage is only 1 ml. When the course of treatment is completed, the victim will develop immunity to rabies, which will last for one year.

Sometimes it is additionally necessary to use another method of treatment. To do this, the patient is injected with rabies immunoglobulin into the wound area or buttock. However, it is used in practice quite rarely, because its use is required only in particularly severe cases. Administration schedule: day 0, day 3, day 7, day 14 and day 28.

For the period of treatment and the next six months of life, patients are prohibited from drinking alcohol, overwork, visiting the bathhouse, and getting hypothermic. If you follow all the rules and take medications, you will soon be able to start living the same way as before.

You can protect yourself with pre-exposure vaccination. However, doctors do not recommend doing this, because... This need exists only for people at risk (veterinarians, travelers, pathologists).

In 2005, doctors in the United States were able to cure a girl of rabies by putting her into a long-term artificial coma. This success is explained by the fact that the virus has only a temporary effect, after which it ceases to affect the infected person.

Is there a cure for rabies?

It is important to remember that there is no cure for rabies in dogs. If you suspect that your pet has developed a disease, it must be shown to a veterinarian and placed in quarantine. The dog must be in an enclosure where contact with other animals is excluded.

The quarantine lasts for ten days, during which time all signs of rabies usually develop or do not develop. The veterinarian can also take tests that can help identify a virus or other pathogen.

Vaccine

The first vaccination is given to the puppy at 3 months or after the appearance of the molars. All subsequent vaccinations are carried out annually.

A persistent immune response appears only after the 3rd injection, but even then it does not provide one hundred percent protection. Vaccinated pets receive the right to participate in exhibitions and can freely travel outside the country.

The main reason for refusing this preventive measure is the price. Not all owners have the opportunity to pay for the vaccine annually. As an alternative solution, veterinarians advise contacting government clinics, where the procedure is carried out free of charge using domestic drugs.

Before vaccination, the four-legged patient is treated for parasites and checked for diseases. It is not recommended to vaccinate a sick, pregnant or lactating animal. This can lead to infection due to too weak an immune response from the exhausted body.

Can a vaccinated animal get sick?

The immune response lasts up to a year, but weakens within six months after vaccination. It is from this moment that the vaccinated pet becomes more vulnerable to infection. Rare cases of infection account for only 2-4%.

After an attack on a vaccinated dog, prepare a veterinary passport with notes on the vaccines administered. He is also vaccinated and isolated for a certain time until the circumstances are clarified. If vaccination was carried out recently, and your pet managed to scratch or bite you, the administration of anti-rabies serum is not practiced.

With timely treatment, the likelihood of death is almost zero. The existing immunity and an additional dose of serum are guaranteed to get rid of the infection.

What to do if your dog is bitten by a suspected rabies carrier

Immediately after a bite or other injury, first aid is allowed. For your safety, be sure to wear protective gloves and use a muzzle. After this, proceed with the following steps:

1. Remove hair from the damaged area with scissors.
2. Wash the wound with plenty of soapy water. Use a syringe to remove some of the saliva by squirting the liquid under pressure.
3. Isolate your pet in a separate room and call a veterinarian. The pet will be taken into temporary quarantine to ensure its safety for others.

Don't ignore the attack that has occurred. If you are not sure about the health of the attacked animal, then do not try to check the possible consequences in practice. Temporary isolation will not harm your pet, but will only help avoid a fatal disease.

Other precautions

In addition to compliance with the vaccination schedule, the vigilance of the owner plays an important role. For the health of your four-legged pet, follow these recommendations:

1. Avoid direct contact with stray animals. When you meet an unfamiliar dog walking without its owner, try to leave his walking area.
2. Inspect your dog's body after every walk. The appearance of suspicious scratches is a cause for concern.
3. Prohibit inspection and sniffing of dead animals. Eating infected corpses and still living bodies is equally dangerous.

Don't forget about your own safety. It is possible and necessary to take care of street animals, but only if you are sure that they will not.

With the purchase of a pet comes great responsibility. Don't skimp on his health and follow the vaccination schedule to protect him.

When meeting potentially dangerous animals, be sure to contact the appropriate services - in Russia this is the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance. Don't be indifferent and remember that making a call can save someone's life.

The article is for informational purposes only. Contact your veterinarian!

Prevention of rabies

To prevent people from becoming infected with rabies, disease control measures have been developed at the state level. All farm animals are subject to mandatory preventive vaccination. There are programs to track rabies in wild animal populations and vaccinate them in disadvantaged areas. People are vaccinated against rabies if they are at risk.

By law, all dogs in Russia must be vaccinated against rabies. Vaccination is carried out free of charge at animal disease control stations

A person bitten by a dog that is not vaccinated against rabies receives a course of vaccine injections. The rabies virus develops slowly, so the vaccinated person has time to develop immunity to the disease. It is important to receive the first injection as early as possible: the likelihood of a successful outcome is high if the drug is administered within the first 72 hours.

There will be six injections in total: on days 1, 3, 7, 14, and 1 and 3 months after seeking help. If the attacking dog was kept under observation for 10 days and no signs of illness were found, then the last three injections are not given.

Sources

• https://ivethelp.ru/sobaki/beshenstvo-u-sobak/
• https://www.PorodiCobak.ru/zdorove-i-bolezni/beshenstvo-u-sobaki
• https://vashipitomcy.ru/sobaki/bolezni_26/analiz-na-beshenstvo-u-sobak-kak-podtverdit-ili-oprovergnut-diagnoz/
• https://infoanaliz.com/analizy-zhivotnim/kak-opredelit-beshenstvo-u-sobaki/
• https://drtclub.ru/beshenstvo-u-sobak/
• https://MirSobak.net/vet-spravochnik/zabolevaniya/infektsionnye/virusnye/beshenstvo.html
• https://kinpet.ru/beshenstvo-u-sobak-10-priznakov-formy-zabolevaniya-prognoz-/
• https://otravilsya.com/ukusy/sobaka/
• https://gafki.ru/sobaki/priznaki-beshenstva-u-cheloveka-posle-ukusa.html
• https://vashipitomcy.ru/sobaki/bolezni_26/priznaki-beshenstva-posle-ukusa-sobaki-u-cheloveka/

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How to identify rabies

First of all, in order to know how to determine rabies in a dog, you need to seek advice from a qualified veterinarian. When making a preliminary diagnosis, the doctor must take into account the data collected from the anamnesis, the results of the pathological examination and the general epizootological situation of the region. To make an accurate diagnosis, laboratory diagnostic methods are used, as well as microscopic examinations, bacterial culture, rapid tests and tissue histology. When making a diagnosis, it is extremely important to differentiate from Aujeszky's disease, canine distemper and encephalomyelitis.

Note! An animal suspected of having rabies must be isolated from other animals and humans in a special box until the test results are available.

As a rule, an accurate diagnosis can be made only on the basis of pathological material - an autopsied animal corpse. The most informative method in this case is the presence of specific formations in the brain - Babes-Negri bodies, localized in a part of the brain (the horns of Ammon).

Detection of specific antigens is carried out using a diffuse precipitation reaction, as well as ELISA (immunofluorescence analysis) of the cornea imprint. This technique allows you to determine the presence of a viral agent in an animal’s body with an accuracy of up to 95%.

Specific Babes-Negri bodies can be detected and recognized in fingerprint smears, histological sections of the brain, as well as tissue structures of the salivary glands. From the brain tissue of a dead animal, small pieces up to 4 mm thick are separated in the transverse direction using sterile scissors. The sample is taken from the medulla oblongata, cerebellum and Ammon's horns. A glass slide is applied to the surface of the cut area and a special imprint is obtained. Special preparations are used to dye fabrics. Up to 3 Babes-Negri bodies can be found in one cellular unit. They are distinguished by clearly defined shells and with an internal granular structure.

A blood test is also performed to check for the presence of specific antibodies. Taking into account the fact that viral components are located and infect nerve fibers, it is extremely rare to detect it in the bloodstream. If a possible infection is suspected, a cerebrospinal fluid analysis is performed in a veterinary laboratory.

In addition, detailed biochemical blood tests for rabies in dogs of the serological type are carried out. When infected, there is a shift in the leukocyte formula, as well as oliguria, albuminuria, dysuria and an increase in the number of monocytes.

A test for the presence of specific anti-rabies antibodies in the bloodstream allows you to check the strength of the immune system. The results of the diagnostic measures can be obtained only after 10-15 days. Modern laboratory tests for rabies are based on two methods:

• fluorescence focus speed inhibition test;
• fluorescent virus-neutralizing antibody test.

These types of studies are carried out on living cellular structures using a live virus. For research, blood is taken from the animal in an amount of 0.5-1 ml. It is necessary to take such a test when antibodies have been produced in sufficient quantities in the bloodstream after vaccination.

A bioassay on laboratory mice allows us to understand that a dog has rabies at an earlier stage. It is used to detect the virus in the tissue structures of the brain, the saliva of sick animals and the salivary glands. To conduct a laboratory test, small breastfed mice in the amount of 20 are infected. Under anesthesia, by subcranial injection, an injection of a suspension of the potential infected material being studied is made.

If the result is positive, the mice quickly experience paresis, paralysis and tremor in the muscles of the limbs. Typically, infected laboratory animals die within 5 days. Subsequently, the animal corpses are subjected to autopsy and a direct immunofluorescence reaction is carried out.

Symptoms of rabies in animals

Once a dog or cat is infected with rabies, it usually takes about 15 days before the animal begins to behave aggressively.

The most common symptoms dogs exhibit are:

1. Starts gnawing or licking the bite site.
2. The dog's pupils dilate, and it begins to behave aggressively and even runs away from the house.
3. While maintaining an appetite, the dog can swallow inedible things.
4. The animal may have severe salivation with foam and vomiting (doctors consider this to be the main symptom of rabies).
5. Hydrophobia (may not manifest itself).

After these signs appear, as a rule, on the third day, paralysis of all muscles and death of the animal occurs.

in cats are drooling and extreme agitation.

The cows' limbs become paralyzed and death occurs.

What to do if bitten by a dog?

What to do if an animal bites you? The victim is given first aid, then everything depends on the severity of the injury and the availability of vaccinations.

• If a dog bites a child, always consult a doctor.
• If the dog’s bite is not severe, it has a rabies vaccination, and the victim has a tetanus vaccination, you can limit yourself to self-medication.
• Contact a doctor if bitten by an unknown dog; if the wounds are on the face, neck or are torn; if the victim does not have a tetanus vaccination.

First aid for a dog bite is provided as follows.

1. Wash the wound thoroughly with soap and water for 5-10 minutes. It is better to use regular laundry soap, as it has antiviral properties.
2. Treat the wound surface with any antiseptic solution: 3% hydrogen peroxide, Chlorhexidine, Miramistin.
3. The skin around the wound is lubricated with a 3% iodine solution or brilliant green.
4. A bandage with antibacterial ointment (Levomekol, tetracycline, syntomycin) is applied to the wound. Dressing and treating the wound after a dog bite is done daily or every other day.

If the damage requires examination by a doctor, then apply a sterile bandage without ointments, lightly moistened with an antiseptic, to the wound.

1. Hematomas without compromising the integrity of the skin can be lubricated with Indovazin, heparin ointment, and Troxerutin. This will reduce swelling and tenderness of the tissue.

For severe pain, take painkillers - paracetamol, Analgin, Ibuprofen. If there is heavy bleeding, water the wound with an antiseptic solution, apply a pressure bandage and go to the doctor.

Where to go for help?

In case of animal bites, seek medical help at the nearest emergency room. A trauma surgeon treats bites. For severe wounds or heavy bleeding, call an ambulance .

Perhaps, after visiting a doctor, you will need to solve the legal aspect of the problem: find the owner of the animal and bring him to justice or come to a peaceful agreement. At the hospital you need to take an extract, prescriptions for medications, receipts for paid services.

What is the disease?

Rabies is a viral infection that destroys nerve cells in the central nervous system. The disease occurs with pronounced signs of a nervous disorder (aggression, dementia) and ultimately leads to the death of the body.

The main causative agent of the disease is a virus that quietly penetrates the immune and nervous systems, rapidly spreads throughout the body and destroys various parts of the spinal cord and brain. As a result, many functions of the central nervous system fail, and the virus affects the nervous tissues of the body, mucous membranes, and the skin suffers.

Symptoms of rabies in humans

For rabies, the incubation period ranges from 8 days to 1 year. Most often, the disease does not manifest itself in any way for 40 days.

The duration of the incubation period and the course of the disease directly depend on the location of the bite on the body, the age of the victim, the depth of the wound and penetration of the virus, and the rapid use of the vaccine.

It is believed that the shortest incubation period for a person when bitten by a wolf. As for the location of the bite, the most dangerous are the injuries to the head, face and arms during an animal attack, since the rabies virus infects the nerve fibers and cells of a person, then moving along the spinal cord to the brain.

A person's death occurs due to suffocation and cardiac arrest.

Symptoms of rabies in humans:

1. The primary symptoms of rabies include: low-grade body temperature (above 37, but below 38 degrees), malaise, convulsions during breathing and the desire to swallow food, headache, nausea, lack of air. The bite site turns red, and increased salivation is observed.
2. Nervous excitement, irritability, anxiety, headache, insomnia, depression, and poor appetite appear. All this lasts approximately 1-3 days.
3. Then a characteristic symptom of rabies appears - “foaming at the mouth”; excitement is accompanied by muscle cramps, which can occur even from bright light. Patients may become aggressive, scream, tear their clothes, use force, and break furniture. Body temperature rises to 39–41 degrees, tachycardia, increased lacrimation, salivation, and sweating are observed.
4. Subsequently, hydrophobia and severe breathing spasms appear. Most often at this moment the pupils dilate, and convulsions can distort the face.
5. Then the face turns blue. At the last stage of the disease, hallucinations with changes in mood and attacks of anger, which are very dangerous, are possible. During a rage, a sick person may even bite others.

It is worth knowing that there is “ silent rabies” , when a person’s disease can be practically asymptomatic, he does not show agitation. It is most often transmitted by the bite of humans by bats found in South America.