Rabies is a virus that affects the nervous system. It is transmitted through bites or scratches. In the United States, the wild animals most likely to carry rabies are raccoons, bats, skunks and foxes. Bats are responsible for more than half of the cases of rabies exposure reported by humans. Since 1990, 55 cases of human rabies have been diagnosed in the United States. In other parts of the world, however, between 40,000 and 70,000 people die each year from rabies, mostly caused by bites from unvaccinated dogs.
Symptoms of Rabies in Humans
Symptoms of rabies may take weeks or months to develop after exposure, but treatment must be given as soon as possible after exposure to prevent the virus from infecting a person. Symptoms of human rabies include fever, headache, irritability, itching and twitching at the infection site.
In time, a person's respiratory, gastrointestinal or nervous system may also be affected. Muscle spasms occur in the infected person's respiratory system and throat, which makes it difficult to swallow. Other symptoms may include hyperactivity, seizures, convulsions, hallucinations, paralysis and, eventually, death caused by the failure of the respiratory system.
What to Do If You've Been Bitten
If you've been bitten by an animal you suspect is rabid, clean and disinfect the bite immediately. If the bite didn't break the skin, little followup treatment should be required.
Contact animal control for assistance in capturing the animal that bit you. If it is a pet, contact the animal's owner to determine whether the animal's rabies vaccinations are up to date. If the animal does not have current inoculations, it will be observed for 10 days for signs of rabies, and your course of treatment will be determined after the observation period ends.
If a wild animal bit you, contact your local health department for instructions on how to proceed with rabies testing on the animal. It will be euthanized and its brain examined for signs of rabies. If it is declared to be rabies-free, you should will require no further treatment. If the animal's status is undetermined or positive for rabies, follow-up injections are strongly recommended.
Rabies Vaccinations Are Strongly Recommended
If your skin has been broken or if you have been exposed to a bat, you should begin receiving rabies vaccinations promptly. Contact your physician's office for information on where to receive these injections, which are administered in several doses over a period of two weeks or more, and the amount of medication you receive in each dose is calculated based on your body weight. You will also need an injection of rabies immune globulin with the first rabies vaccination. Unlike anti-rabies treatments of the past that involved injections into the abdomen, adults receive these injections in the upper arm, while children receive them in the thigh.
After you've received this initial course of treatment, a shorter course of follow-up boosters will be required if you're exposed to another rabid animal in the future.