Take action: All you need to know about rabies

The Boksburg SPCA wrote on their Facebook page: “We wish to advise all pet owners of Boksburg that there has been a confirmed case of rabies in Boksburg South. We ask that all owners take their animals to either their vets or to Boksburg SPCA for vaccination against this disease.”

Rabies is an infectious disease that spreads from animals to humans. The rabies virus causes the disease by infecting nerves in animals and people.

The rabies virus travels to the brain (through nerves inside the brain), the virus reproduces, and then it travels back through the nerves to most parts of the body.

Eventually, the virus reaches the salivary glands where it is released into the saliva in the mouth. By this time, the disease has usually damaged the brain, sometimes producing violent behaviour. It eventually causes death.

Pet Education.com shared the following valuable information about the disease:

*Who is at risk?

People who work closely with wildlife, veterinarians, and travellers are at the highest risk of exposure. Fortunately, there is a vaccine that is available to protect high-risk people. Animals that come into contact with wildlife and are not vaccinated are at a higher risk of infection. While the risk of coming into contact with the virus is very low, it nevertheless does exist. Because of the movement of carriers, there is always the risk of exposure.

*Transmission of the disease

The transmission of the disease almost always occurs as a result of an infected animal biting a non-infected animal. Skunks, raccoons, foxes, coyotes and bats are the animals most likely to transmit the virus.

Rabies virus does not live very long outside the host and remains viable in the carcass of an infected animal for less than 24 hours. The rabies virus is shed at high levels in saliva. However, being bitten by a rabid animal does not necessarily mean that the bitten animal (or human) will become infected. It has been speculated that only around 15% of exposed people will contract the disease. Humans, cats, and dogs are only mildly susceptible to the disease.

*Symptoms

After coming in contact with the virus, the bitten animal may go through one or all of several stages. With most animals, the virus will spread through the nerves of the bitten animal towards the brain.

The virus is relatively slow moving and the average time of incubation from exposure to brain involvement is between three to eight weeks in dogs, two to six weeks in cats, and three to six weeks in people.

However, incubation periods as long as six months in dogs and 12 months in people have been reported. After the virus reaches the brain it then will move to the salivary glands where it can be spread through a bite.

After the virus reaches the brain the animal will show one, two, or all of the three different phases.

*Prodromal phase

The first is the prodromal phase and usually lasts for two to three days in dogs. Apprehension, nervousness, anxiety, solitude, and a fever may be noted. Friendly animals may become shy or irritable and may snap, whereas, aggressive animals may become affectionate and docile. Most animals will constantly lick the site of the bite. In cats, the prodromal phase lasts for only one to two days and they usually develop more fever spikes and erratic behaviour than dogs.

*Furious phase

From the prodromal phase, animals may enter the furious stage; cats are particularly prone to developing this phase. The furious stage of the disease in dogs usually lasts for one to seven days.

Animals become restless and irritable and are hyper-responsive to auditory and visual stimuli. As they become more restless, they begin to roam and become more irritable and vicious. When caged, dogs may bite and attack their enclosures. Animals progress to become disoriented and then have seizures and eventually die.

*Paralytic (dumb) phase

Animals may develop the paralytic phase either after the prodromal or furious stage. The paralytic phase usually develops within two to four days after the first signs are noted. Nerves affecting the head and throat are the first to be involved and animals may begin to salivate as a result of their inability to swallow.

Deep, laboured breathing and a dropped jaw may result as the diaphragm and facial muscles become increasingly paralysed. Animals may make a choking sound and many owners think that there is something lodged in the dog’s throat. The animal will get weaker and eventually go into respiratory failure and die.

*Diagnosis

The current way to diagnose rabies in animals is to submit the brain for microscopic examination. Some new testing techniques utilising skin and/or blood samples are being studied and used in a few research settings and show promise as a way of testing potentially exposed humans and animals.

*Treatment

There is no treatment. Once the disease develops in humans, death is almost certain. Only a handful of people have survived rabies after extremely intensive medical care. There have been several reported cases of dogs surviving the infection, but they are very rare.

*Vaccination and prevention

Vaccination is the best way to prevent infection and properly vaccinated animals stand very little chance of contracting the disease.

There is a series of vaccines that can be used to vaccinate people at high risk. There are some vaccines available for large animals too.

*Pet exposure

Any pet that is bitten or scratched by either a wild carnivorous mammal or a bat that is not available for testing should be considered as having been exposed to rabies. Public health officials recommend that unvaccinated dogs, cats and ferrets exposed to a rabid animal should be euthanised immediately.

If the owner is unwilling to have this done, the animal should be placed in strict isolation for six months and vaccinated one month before being released.

Animals with expired vaccinations need to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

Dogs and cats that are currently vaccinated are kept under observation for 45 days.

*Human exposure

If an animal bites a human, the animal will be either quarantined or observed for a period of at least 10 days to ensure that it does not have rabies.

Whether or not the animal was currently vaccinated and the community that you live in will dictate the requirements of the quarantine. People who do become exposed to a rabid animal can be given post- exposure vaccinations and a globulin (antibody) injection to protect them against becoming infected.

Any person bitten by an animal should wash the wound thoroughly with soap and water and seek medical attention immediately.