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

The disease is caused by the rabies virus, which infects 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 as early as the 5th century BC, by 2005 there were only three documented cases of recovery.

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

Subsequently, this technique was used in different countries in the treatment of another 35 people who fell ill 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 as 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 almost 100% death.

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 for rabies is constantly tense. This is due to the fact that there are many active natural foci of rabies around the capital. So, only in 2013-2016, about 50 cases of this disease were registered in animals in Moscow, and according to the Rosselkhoznadzor, only for the period from February 1 to February 18, 2016, 166 cases of rabies were recorded in Russia.

What animals can get rabies?

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

Foxes and hedgehogs are the most dangerous for our region.

How do they get rabies?

Infection of a person or a pet occurs when a sick animal bites or when infected saliva comes into contact with damaged skin or mucous membranes. Contact is dangerous not only with a "rabid" animal, but also with an animal carrier of the virus. The virus in saliva is detected 8-10 days before the onset of obvious clinical signs of the disease.

One of the most common ways of infection is when unvaccinated dogs are taken to nature, where they attack infected hedgehogs.

Not only "dacha residents" are at risk, but also those who are never taken out of the city. After all, about 800 wild foxes live on the territory of Moscow, as well as hedgehogs, rodents and other fauna that your pet may encounter not only in the park, but also just walking in the yard.

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 site of the bite, the age of the animal, the state of its immune system. Typically, clinical signs appear 15-25 days after infection.

The deeper and more extensive the wound, the more virus could get into it with saliva. And the richer the bite site with nerve endings, the faster the disease manifests itself, since the virus enters the brain along the nerve fibers.

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

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

The multiplied virus enters the salivary glands through the nerve fibers and is excreted with saliva, and it has been established that the virus is found 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 does the disease manifest itself?

Different animal species may show different clinical signs of rabies. Dogs don't usually show rabies. Cats most often have a violent form of rabies - they become aggressive towards people and other animals, tend to run away from home and die within 3-6 days. But foxes, on the contrary, often lose their caution, cease to be afraid of a person, are drawn to people and behave like tame ones.

Remember that if a wild animal does not run away from a person and behaves unusually, one can suspect that it is ill with rabies.

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

  1. Violent - lasts 6-11 days and takes place in three stages, passing one into 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, her appetite worsens, swallowing may be difficult and salivation may appear. At this stage, the dog is already contagious. The second stage, the stage of excitement or manic, is characterized by a sharp change in behavior: the dog is aggressive, appetite perversion is often observed, the dog swallows inedible objects, sticks, stones, etc., bites people and animals that come across it on the way, paralysis of the larynx develops; the dog is not able to eat and drink and the disease flows into the third, last, paralytic stage, which is characterized by progressive paralysis and ends with the death of the animal.
  2. Quiet, or paralytic - proceeds 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, there is no stage of excitation, exhaustion, gastroenteritis can 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 all those bitten by a rabid animal get sick, but do not flatter yourself - this percentage is small from 1 to 8%

After the onset of symptoms of the disease, a person dies in 5-8, occasionally 10-12 days, the life of a sick animal is even shorter - 2-6 days.

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 died from an illness for the presence of Babes-Negri bodies - cell inclusions found in the cytoplasm of nerve cells during rabies.

If you suspect that an animal is ill with rabies, then it is necessary to notify the state veterinary service at your place of residence or the regional animal disease control station, 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 norms.

Since rabies is one of the most dangerous diseases, delivery of an animal to quarantine and subsequent quarantine is free of charge.

Restrictive measures are imposed on areas that are unfavorable for rabies - you can’t take out dogs and cats, hold exhibitions, etc.

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

Prevention. How to save a pet?

The only way to protect your pet from rabies is to get vaccinated.

With the manifestation of clinical signs of the disease, vaccination is no longer effective.

In our country, only inactivated anti-rabies vaccines are allowed for use, such vaccines do not contain live viruses, therefore, in principle, it is impossible for an animal to get rabies as a result of the use of such a vaccine, contrary to common "horror stories".

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

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 indicated age, with a second 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 introduction of the rabies vaccine are possible, but fortunately they are quite rare and in this case the benefits of administering the vaccine greatly outweigh the risks.

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

Only a clinically healthy animal 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 vaccination documents.

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 is also entered there. This is a necessary document for any trips with a dog, visiting exhibitions, it is on the basis of a veterinary passport that an 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 at least 30 days before the planned date of departure, but not 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 marks of all necessary vaccinations, regardless of whether they are taken somewhere or simply kept at home.

What to do if you or your dog/cat is bitten?

Any bites from wild animals must be considered potentially dangerous for rabies.

The most important thing to do immediately after a bite is to immediately or as soon as possible thoroughly wash the wound with soap and water, which kills the virus, destroying its shell and treat it with 40-70 degree alcohol or iodine solution; Next, you should URGENTLY contact a veterinary clinic.

People bitten by suspicious rabies or unknown animals are also treated immediately; they urgently need to go to the nearest emergency room for further treatment and preventive measures.

If the owner of the bitten dog or cat cannot provide vaccination certificates, then the dog must be quarantined (usually at home) for 10 days, and if during this time the animal does not show symptoms of rabies, then it is considered healthy.

Rabies (hydrophobia, rabies)- a dangerous infectious disease caused by the rabies virus. The causative agent of rabies is a neurotropic virus that causes specific encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) in animals and humans. After the onset of symptoms, as a rule, the patient cannot be saved.

Rabies can only be contracted from a sick animal. The rabies virus is not transmitted from person to person, although in some cases infection is still possible (cases of rabies infection during corneal transplantation are described).

The rabies virus infects all types of warm-blooded animals, so any animal can be a carrier.

The most dangerous as carriers from wild animals are foxes (the main reservoir of infection), wolves. From domestic - cats and dogs. Rodents (squirrels, rabbits, mice, rats, guinea pigs) are less dangerous. The greatest probability of infection from foxes and stray dogs living outside the city is in the spring and summer.

The incubation period of the disease is determined by the location and severity of the damage and ranges from several days to 1 year or more.

The transmission of the pathogen occurs through direct contact of a person with a source of infection (animal) as a result of a bite, salivation and other damage to the skin or external mucous membranes; an aerosol transmission mechanism is also possible.

The incubation period in immunized people is on average 77 days, while in non-immunized people it is 54 days. The likelihood of infection depends on the circumstances (for example, if a rabid animal bit a person through clothing, or if the bite caused severe bleeding, the likelihood of infection will be less). The place of the bite is also important: the closer to the head, the higher the risk of developing the disease, and the shorter the incubation period. But if the disease has already developed, it always proceeds in the same way.

One of the most important signs of a human disease is rabies with spasms of the pharyngeal muscles only at the sight of water and food, which makes it impossible to drink even a glass of water. No less indicative symptom of aerophobia - muscle cramps that occur at the slightest movement of air.

Prompt vaccination after exposure to the virus usually prevents symptoms from developing and cures the person. People bitten by rabid or unknown animals are vaccinated against rabies. The latter is combined with the introduction of anti-rabies serum or anti-rabies immunoglobulin deep into the wound and into the soft tissues around it. The effectiveness of vaccination is directly related to the time of treatment after an animal bite. The sooner a person turns to a doctor for help, the greater the chance.

Prevention of rabies consists in the fight against rabies among animals: vaccination against rabies of domestic, homeless and wild animals. For people bitten by rabid or unknown animals, local wound dressing should be performed immediately or as soon as possible after the bite or injury; the wound is washed abundantly with soap and water and treated with 40-70 degree alcohol or tincture of iodine, if indicated, anti-rabies immunoglobulin is injected deep into the wound and into the soft tissues around it, after local treatment of the wound, specific treatment is immediately carried out, which consists in therapeutic and prophylactic immunization with an anti-rabies vaccine .

If you have been bitten by an animal, you must:

  • Immediately go to the emergency room, because the success of rabies prevention greatly depends on how quickly you seek help from a doctor. It is advisable to inform the doctor at the emergency room of the following information - a description of the animal, its appearance and behavior, the presence of a collar, the circumstances of the bite.
  • Carry out a course of vaccinations prescribed by a doctor. Forty injections in the stomach have not been given for a long time, you will be vaccinated and let go home. And so five or six times. A bitten person can be left in the hospital if his condition is especially severe, those who are vaccinated again, as well as persons with a disease of the nervous system or an allergic disease, pregnant women and persons vaccinated with other vaccinations within the last two months.
  • At the time of vaccination and 6 months after it, you must refrain from drinking alcohol.
  • It is not recommended to overwork, overcool or, on the contrary, overheat. It must be remembered: rabies is a fatal disease, it cannot be cured, but in case of a bite, saliva by an animal, the disease can be prevented by a timely course of therapeutic and prophylactic vaccination. The effectiveness of vaccination is directly dependent on the time to seek help after a bite.

In order to prevent infection with rabies, hunters are advised to receive a course of prophylactic vaccinations against rabies, refrain from skinning and butchering animal carcasses until the results of the rabies examination of killed animals are received from the veterinary laboratory. Do not allow unvaccinated dogs to hunt wild animals. In order to prevent rabies, it is necessary to carry out annual preventive vaccination against rabies of dogs, regardless of their affiliation, and, if necessary, cats.