By Jose Mari L. Castro, D.V.M.
Rabies remains to be a widespread, neglected and under-reported zoonosis (an illness that humans get from animals) with an almost 100 per cent fatality rate in humans and animals.
WHAT IS RABIES? To make it very simple for us to understand: RABIES is a HIGHLY FATAL viral disease that causes inflammation of the brain in humans and almost all mammals.
What do you see in a rabies-infected human and animal?
1.FEVER
2.FEAR OF WATER
3.EXCESSIVE SALIVATION
4.HALLUCINATIONS
5. PARALYSIS AND
6.COMA.
THIS IS FOLLOWED BY DEATH.
How does someone get rabies? Rabies is transmitted through a bite, scratch and exposure of an open wound to the saliva of a rabid animal.
How does the body react to the virus? After the bite, the virus travels through the muscles and nerve cells (neurotropic), towards the CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM and eventually the brain, thus causing ENCEPHALITIS.
How does an individual get treatment from a rabid dog bite? There is a vaccine called PEP or Post Exposure Prophylaxis wherein a type of vaccine or immunoglobulin is injected intramuscularly to an individual to stop the spread of the virus in the body and to stop it from reaching the brain.
How do we prevent rabies infection? In humans, there is also a type of vaccine called PRE-EXPOSURE PROPHYLAXIS wherein a vaccine is injected to an individual to protect the individual from rabies infection in case one might be bitten by a dog or a cat in the future.
In dogs and cats, a vaccine is available against the rabies virus, it is given at three (3) months of age and given annually thereafter.
About the author: Dr. Jose Mari L. Castro or Doc Jomar graduated from the U.P. College of Veterinary Medicine Class of '99, and the founder and medical director of Ask A Vet Medical Clinic in Quezon City. He also worked at the Warren Animal Hospital, Bear Valley Animal Hospital and AmarGlen Animal Hospital, all in Los Angeles, U.S. A.