What you need to know about rabies
9/9/2024 by Robert M. Jacobson, M.D.
September is Rabies Awareness Month, but are you aware this disease is a yearlong problem for all of us? Once a patient has signs and symptoms of rabies, it is too late to treat. The illness is 100% fatal. This is why we take rabies prevention so seriously.
Owners must vaccinate their cats, dogs, ferrets and horses against rabies. Farmers and ranchers should vaccinate their sheep and cattle when feasible as well. However, animal vaccination does not eliminate the risk for humans.
First, animal vaccines are not 100% effective. Second, wild animals put us at risk, too.
Skunks and bats are the primary wild animals in Minnesota that carry rabies. Cats, dogs, horses and cattle can also become infected when bitten by skunks or bats.
Petting a stray cat or dog puts you at risk for rabies if you get bit — no matter how deep. Do not approach a strange cat or dog — no matter how cute. Do not put yourself at risk for a bite, even if the stray gets tangled up with your pet.
If the biting animal cannot be tested or observed for 10 days, you must get the rabies prevention series. This measure involves rabies antibody or immunoglobulin injected directly into the bite wound. This also involves several doses of rabies vaccine. If the animal can be assessed and is negative, you can skip the treatment and be reassured you were not exposed. Unfortunately, capturing a stray is difficult, and the testing requires a brain sample, which requires the animal to be put to death.
Waking up in a room with a bat means you might have been bitten. Since bats have incredibly small teeth, their bites are invisible and won't wake you. You won't find a wound and probably didn't feel a bite.
If you find a child in the room with a bat, you must presume the child was bitten. It does not matter if the child is awake or asleep. The same goes for a drunk adult who was in a room with a bat. Bats, when healthy, do not stay in a room with a human. A bat in a room with a human is likely ill, and it could be rabies.
If you can't capture the bat to have its brain tested, you need to start the rabies series.
A bite from a neighbor's cat, dog or ferret is also a risk, even the case if your neighbor can document that the pet is up to date on rabies vaccines. The vaccine is not 100% effective. The pet still needs 10 days of observation to ensure it remains alive and healthy. If not, you will need to start the vaccination series.
Call your care team if you or a loved one might have been exposed. It's an emergency.
Robert M. Jacobson, M.D., is the medical director of the Primary Care Immunization Program in Rochester and Kasson. He is a Community Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine physician at Mayo Clinic in Rochester.