Rabies
About Rabies
Rabies infections in humans are rare in the United States. However, worldwide about 50,000 people die of rabies each
Year, especially in developing countries where vaccination programs dogs against rabies do not exist. But the good news is
that problems can be prevented if the person to be treated before they develop symptoms of infection.
Rabies is a virus that in the U.S. is usually transmitted by a bite from a wild infected animal, such as a bat, raccoon,
Skunk or fox. If a bite from a rabid animal develops and untreated rabies is almost always fatal.
If you suspect that your child has been bitten by a rabid animal, immediately go to the emergency room. Each animal
Bites - even those who are not with rabies - can lead to infections and other medical problems. As a precaution, call
Your doctor any time your child has been bitten.
Gear
About 7,000 cases of rabies in animals each year to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Raccoons are the most common carriers of rabies in the United States, but bats are most likely to infect people. Almost
three-quarters of rabies cases between 1990 and 2001 came from contact with bats.
Skunks and foxes can also be infected with rabies, and a few cases in wolves, coyotes, lynx and reported
Ferrets. Small rodents such as hamsters, squirrels, chipmunks, mice, and rabbits are seldom infected with the virus.
Because of widespread vaccination programs in the United States, transmission from dogs to humans is very rare. Outside
the United States, exposure to rabid dogs is the most common cause of transmission to humans.
An infected animal has transmitted the rabies virus in its saliva and can it to a person by biting. In rarer cases, a
Animal can spread the virus when its saliva comes into contact with a person's mucous membranes (moist skin surfaces, such as
the mouth or inner eyelids) or broken skin such as a cut, scratch, bump or open sore.
After a bite, the rabies virus can spread to surrounding muscles, then you travel near nerves to the brain. Once the
Virus reaches the brain, the infection is fatal in almost all cases.
Signs and symptoms
The first symptoms can range from a few days to more than a year, appear after the bite occurs.
One of the most striking signs of rabies infection is a tingling or twitching sensation around the area of the
Animal bite. It is often accompanied by fever, headache, muscle pain, loss of appetite, nausea and fatigue.
As the infection progresses, someone can become infected with rabies develop any of these symptoms:
Excitability
excessive movements or agitation
Perplexity
Hallucinations
Aggressiveness
bizarre or abnormal thoughts
Muscle cramps
abnormal postures
Seizures (convulsions)
Weakness or paralysis (when a person can not move a part of the body)
extreme sensitivity to bright light, sound or touch
increased production of saliva and tears
Difficulty in speaking
In advanced stages of infection, as it spreads to other parts of the nervous system, these symptoms can develop:
Double Vision
Problems moving facial muscles
abnormal movements of the diaphragm and muscles, respiratory
Difficulty swallowing and increased production of saliva, making the "foaming at the mouth" usually associated with a
Rabies infection
If your child is bitten by an animal
If your child has been bitten by an animal, the following steps immediately:
Wash the bite area with soap and water for 10 minutes and cover the bite with a clean bandage.
Immediately call your doctor and go to a nearby emergency room. Who needs with a possible rabies infection
treated in a hospital.
Call to help local animal control authorities, the animals that caused the bite. The animal may have to be held
and observed for signs of rabies.
If you know the owner of the animal that has bitten your child, you get all the information about the animal, including
Vaccination and the owner's name and address. Notify your local health department, especially when the animal
have not been vaccinated.
If you suspect that your child from an unknown dog, bat, rat, or other animal has bitten, contact your doctor
immediately or take your child to the emergency room.
Treatment
In the hospital, it is likely that the doctor first clean the wound thoroughly and make sure that your child
Tetanus immunizations are current.
To keep spreading a possible infection, the doctor may decide that your child begin treatment immediately with shots
of human rabies immune globulin at the wound site and vaccine shots in the arm. This decision is usually based on
Circumstances of the bite (provoked or reason), the type of animal (species, wild or domestic), the health of the animal
History (vaccinated or not), and the recommendations of the local health authorities.
Prevention
You can increase your chances that your family is exposed to rabies. Vaccinate your pets - dogs, cats, ferrets and can
infected by rabies. Report any stray animals to your local health department or animal control officer. Remind children that
Animals can be "strangers". You should never touch or feed stray cats or dogs wandering in the neighborhood or
elsewhere.
As a precaution against rabies, call your doctor if:
Your child has been exposed to an animal that might have rabies, but is too young to describe the contact with the animal
Your child has been exposed to bats, even if it does not bite
You are planning to travel abroad and come into contact with a rabid animal, especially if you are traveling to an area where
You may not have access to health care