How is rabies contracted?

Rabies occurs when a person is bitten by a rabid dog, cat or other animal, or by an animal carrying rabies virus. Broken skin enters the body and causes disease. It has been reported that rabies virus can be transmitted through the respiratory tract. Bats living in groups in caves and valleys are infected through the respiratory tract through the air. Unexpected incidents of aerosol rabies infection have occurred among personnel working in caves and laboratories; corneal transplantation may be one of the transmission routes. In 1978 Since then, more than 10 cases of rabies infection through corneal transplantation have been reported in the United States, France, India, Thailand and other countries.

How to prevent rabies?

① Do not keep dogs, cats and other animals; ② If you keep dogs, cats and other animals, these animals must be injected regularly Rabies vaccine; ③ Do not be injured by these animals; ④ After being injured by dogs, cats and other animals, the wound must be treated promptly, and the human rabies vaccine must be injected at the disease control (epidemic prevention), hospital and other health institutions, or whether it should be injected according to the doctor's advice Anti-rabies serum.

How to use rabies vaccine correctly after an animal injury?

Don’t take risks when bitten by a dog. Local treatment + antiserum injection + rabies vaccine immunity "triple": 1. Contacts with mild bites need to be injected with effective human rabies vaccine throughout the process; 2. People exposed to severe bites need combined immunization, that is, injected with human rabies vaccine and anti-rabies serum for early protection, but must be used before use Antirabies serum. Allergy test, if the reaction is positive, desensitization treatment should be taken to prevent accidents. (3) Injection method: Inject rabies vaccine into the deltoid muscle of the upper arm for adults, and into the anterior thigh muscle for children. Injection into the buttocks is prohibited.

Who should be vaccinated against rabies?

Those bitten by wild animals such as wolves and foxes: those bitten by sick dogs and cats; Those whose skin wounds are contaminated by rabies saliva; those who have nursed or been in contact with patients with damaged skin and are contaminated with the secretions of rabies patients; those in rabies endemic areas: veterinarians, animal management personnel, field workers, etc. If you were bitten by a dog in the past and were not vaccinated with human rabies vaccine at that time, you should still be vaccinated now, and the sooner the better. Because the incubation period of rabies varies from a few days to several years, do not give up the opportunity to get vaccinated. As long as you get vaccinated before the onset of the disease, you can protect the body.

How to deal with wounds correctly?

After being bitten by a crazy animal, whether it is a severe bite or a minor injury, you should immediately (within 3 hours after the injury) apply soap and water and Wash the wound with clean water, preferably with 20% soapy water. For large and deep wounds, use 0.2% mercury chloride or 0.1% mercury chloride to completely rinse the wound after debridement (be sure to change cotton swabs). It is important to perform local treatment as soon as possible after a bite. The earlier local treatment is, the better, even if it is delayed by 1~2 days, or even 3-4 days, local treatment should not be ignored. If the wound has scabs at this time, the scabs should be removed and then washed repeatedly with soapy water until there is a little bleeding, and then rinsed with clean water. Then apply 2% or 3% iodine.

What are the contraindications for rabies vaccination?

Because rabies is a fatal disease, there are no contraindications for vaccination.

After receiving rabies vaccine and serum, what issues should be paid attention to in work, life and diet?

Avoid drinking alcohol, strong tea and other irritating foods and strenuous exercise Wait

Do pets that have been bitten or scratched by catscats or dogs that have been injected with veterinary rabies vaccine need to be vaccinated against rabies?

Needed, because it can only protect cats and dogs from getting sick, but it may still carry the virus.

The pathogenesis of the disease and preventive measures

After being bitten by a mad dog or sick cat, it will take several days or longer for the disease to develop. In the early stages of rabies, patients often experience symptoms such as low-grade fever, headache, laziness, nausea, irritability, fear, and irritability. The patient then becomes extremely sensitive to stimuli such as sound, light, or wind, and experiences a tightening of the throat immediately after minor stimulation. There is also an unusual feeling of numbness and itching around the bite wound from a sick animal. It looks like there are ants crawling on the limbs and hands.

After two or three days, the condition enters the exciting stage. The patient is in a highly excited state. The most prominent manifestations are extreme fear, fear of water and wind, and severe spasm of throat muscles when exposed to sound, light, wind, etc. Although the patient is very thirsty, he does not dare to drink water, and even after drinking water, he cannot swallow it. Even when he hears the sound of running water or other people talk about water, he will suffer from throat spasm. In severe cases, patients may experience painful convulsions all over the body, causing difficulty in breathing. The vast majority of rabies patients are conscious; however, some patients become insane and talk nonsense.

About two or three days after the excitement period, the patient becomes quiet, but then becomes paralyzed. His respiratory and blood circulation system functions will fail, and he will quickly fall into coma. He will die after more than ten hours. The course of rabies generally does not exceed 6 days.

Treatment of rabies is very difficult, and once the disease occurs, the hope of cure is slim. Therefore, prevention is particularly important. Kill all wild dogs. If a sick dog or cat is discovered, they must be shot immediately to prevent further harm. The carcasses of sick animals should be buried deeply and should not be skinned. Also contact the epidemic prevention department. Dogs and cats that bite should be captured and quarantined for 10 days to see if they have rabies. Domestic dogs should be managed in accordance with the law, and cats and dogs should be vaccinated against rabies. Those who are at increased risk of contracting rabies should be vaccinated against rabies as soon as possiblevaccine.

Does rabies only occur after being bitten by a rabid dog?

Rabies is an animal infectious disease, and many animals such as wolves, foxes, dogs, cats, etc. may be infected suffer from this disease. However, cats and dogs are the ones most closely related to humans. More than 90% of human rabies is transmitted by dogs, followed by cats.

The saliva of mad dogs or other mad animals already contains large amounts of viruses. When biting a person, the virus in the saliva can contaminate the wound and invade the body, causing infection. This is the most common way for people to contract rabies. But rabies is not only caused by dog ​​bites, the rabies virus can also cause infection through the mucous membranes. For example, if a dog licks the child's anus after defecating, there will be no bite, but if the dog's saliva contains viruses, the child can contract rabies. A farmer accidentally cut his finger while skinning a mad dog and died of rabies afterwards. In addition, rabies virus can survive for a long time in dead animals. Therefore, you must never skin a mad dog, let alone eat its meat, or sell it in the market. You must burn it or dig a hole and bury it deeply to prevent other animals from biting it.

How to identify crazy animals?

The early manifestations of crazy animals are mainly significant changes in temperament, such as anxiety or fear and nervousness. Some sick animals show unusual friendliness to their owners, wagging their tails and begging for mercy, but they also bite people under mild stimulation and actively attack strangers; some are lonely, do not stay with other animals, and are not interested in their owners. Sensitive; some are lonely. Quirks such as eating dirt, grass, wood, etc. These abnormalities are difficult to detect without careful observation. In the early stages of the disease, the saliva of sick animals contains a large amount of rabies virus. At this time, if you approach it, you will easily be infected and become sick.

Crazy animals enter the excitement stage after the early stage of the disease. They appear to be sitting on pins and needles, running around, biting and barking erratically. At this time, they can no longer recognize strangers and acquaintances, and show a crazy state of attacking people. Many people are like this was bitten. Then the sick dog droops its tail, or puts its tail between its legs, opens its mouth, drools, has difficulty swallowing, staggers when walking, and has its hair standing on end. In the advanced stage, the sick animals soon develop difficulty breathing, and their entire bodies collapse and die.

It should be noted that a small number of crazy animals behave as "quiet type", that is, they show no obvious excitement; there are also a small number of animals that do not become ill and are in the so-called "carrying virus state" (carrying rabies virus, which can be transmitted to humans or other animals) , but it does not cause the disease itself), it is not noticed by people, and it is more dangerous.

How to deal with a rabid dog after being beaten?

Survey data on rabies incidence in my country show that the vast majority (more than 90%) of cases were bitten by rabiesTherefore, eradication of rabies is one of the key measures to prevent rabies. Because the rabies virus can survive in dead animals for long periods of time, rabies can be spread through skinning and eating dog meat. Therefore, we cannot skin a dead mad dog, eat its meat, or throw it away, let alone sell it on the market. Instead, we should burn or dig deep pits to prevent other animals from digging up the soil, gnawing on carcasses, and spreading contamination. We should also treat other murdered lunatics equally.