Medication
Rabies is an overwhelmingly fatal disease, with only a few documented survivors. There is no effective curative treatment for rabies once clinical signs have appeared. All cases of suspected rabies exposure should be treated immediately to prevent the onset of clinical symptoms and death. Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) consists of wound treatment, the administration of rabies vaccines based on WHO recommendations, and if indicated, the administration of rabies immunoglobulin (See table below).
Will there ever be an effective rabies treatment?
- Veterinarians, animal handlers, and veterinary students
- Rabies laboratory workers
- Spelunkers (people who explore caves), and
- Persons who work with live vaccine to produce rabies vaccine and rabies immune globulin.
Why does rabies require medical treatment?
To reduce your risk of coming in contact with rabid animals:
- Vaccinate your pets. Cats, dogs and ferrets can be vaccinated against rabies. ...
- Keep your pets confined. Keep your pets inside and supervise them when outside. ...
- Protect small pets from predators. ...
- Report stray animals to local authorities. ...
- Don't approach wild animals. ...
- Keep bats out of your home. ...
- Consider the rabies vaccine if you're traveling. ...
What is the method of preventing rabies?
This treatment includes extensive washing and local treatment of the wound followed by a course of a potent and effective rabies vaccine. When given in time, PEP can stop the rabies virus from entering the central nervous system and, in turn, prevent the onset of rabies symptoms.
Can you cure rabies?
How did they used to treat rabies?
Until Louis Pasteur and Emile Roux developed a vaccine in the mid-1880s, bite marks from rabid or suspected rabid animals often were treated by cutting away the flesh in and around the infected area and then cauterizing the wound with "lunar caustic" (fused silver nitrate).
Is rabies treatment still painful?
Rabies vaccines can be painful and the immunoglobulin administration can involve a lot of needles at one time for the patient. The patient also has to come back at specific times to abide by the vaccination schedule, which can become quite expensive and inconvenient.
Can you survive rabies without a vaccine?
New research has shown that humans may be able to survive Rabies without vaccination or treatment after all.
How big is a rabies shot needle?
It is generally accepted that a 22 gauge needle is the correct size for an adult cat.
What is a rabies shot?
Rabies shots include: A fast-acting shot (rabies immune globulin) to prevent the virus from infecting you. Part of this injection is given near the area where the animal bit you if possible, as soon as possible after the bite. A series of rabies vaccinations to help your body learn to identify and fight the rabies virus.
How long does it take for a dog to show signs of rabies?
For instance: Pets and farm animals. Cats, dogs and ferrets that bite can be observed for 10 days to see if they show signs and symptoms of rabies.
What happens if you get bitten by an animal?
If you've been bitten by an animal that is known to have rabies, you'll receive a series of shots to prevent the rabies virus from infecting you. If the animal that bit you can't be found, it may be safest to assume that the animal has rabies. But this will depend on several factors, such as the type of animal and the situation in which the bite occurred.
Do you need rabies shots if you bite an animal?
That way, if it's determined the animal is healthy, you won't need the shots.
Can you get rabies shots from wild animals?
Talk to your doctor and local public health officials to determine whether you should receive rabies shots. Wild animals that can be caught. Wild animals that can be found and captured, such as a bat that came into your home, can be killed and tested for rabies. Tests on the animal's brain may reveal the rabies virus.
Can you kill an animal with a shot?
Do not kill the animal with a blow or a shot to the head, as the resulting injuries may make it difficult to perform laboratory tests to determine whether the animal has rabies. Tell your doctor that you have captured the animal that bit you.
Can you die from rabies?
Though a small number of people have survived rabies, the disease usually causes death. For that reason, if you think you've been exposed to rabies, you must get a series of shots to prevent the infection from taking hold.
How do you get rabies?
Rabies is transmitted through direct contact with the saliva or brain tissue of an infected animal.
Is a rabies vaccine available for humans?
Yes, rabies vaccines ( RabAvert, Imovax) are available for humans. The vaccine is given by an injection into the muscle, and it consists of four shots. Most people only need the rabies vaccine if they’ve had exposure to a rabid animal.
How do you prevent rabies from becoming an infection?
Prompt medical attention is vital for preventing a rabies infection. If you’ve been bit by a rabid animal — or even an animal that might have rabies — you’ll need post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) to help protect yourself. About 55,000 people in the U.S. get PEP every year.
Can you treat rabies once symptoms of an infection develop?
After being exposed to rabies, it takes time for rabies to travel to your brain. This is known as the incubation period and can last weeks to months. This time can vary depending on the initial location of exposure.
Is there any ongoing research for rabies treatments?
Recently, the FDA released guidance for drug manufacturers to use to help develop monoclonal antibody cocktails — a type of new anti-rabies treatment. Monoclonal antibodies are biologic medications that act as artificial antibodies. The term cocktails refers to multiple monoclonal antibody medications being used at the same time.
The bottom line
Rabies is a disease that is preventable with prompt medical care, but it’s almost always fatal when it reaches your brain. Treating rabies once it reaches your brain is difficult because it’s hard to get medications into your brain.
Abstract
Rabies is an acute, fatal, neurological disease that affects almost all kinds of mammals. Vaccination (using an inactivated rabies vaccine), combined with administration of rabies immune globulin, is the only approved, effective method for post-exposure prophylaxis against rabies in humans.
1. Introduction
Rabies is an ancient neurological disease caused mainly by the rabies virus (RABV) and is almost invariably fatal once clinical symptoms develop. Currently, rabies continues to pose a serious public health threat in most areas of the world, especially in the developing countries of Asia and Africa.
2. Brief History of Classical Rabies Vaccines
Rabies is one of the oldest infectious diseases and has been known to mankind for more than 4000 years [ 11 ]. However, it was not until 1885 that Louis Pasteur developed the first RABV vaccine from the spinal cord of rabbits infected with rabies that was air-dried for inactivation.
3. Live-Attenuated Virus-Based Rabies Vaccines
Unlike most other vaccines, however, rabies vaccines are designed to be prophylactic and administered primarily in a post-exposure manner. Due to the extremely high mortality of rabies, only inactivated rabies vaccines were approved for human rabies control.
4. Other Novel Modalities for Rabies Control and Prevention
Although live-attenuated virus-based vaccines represent the most promising approach for rabies control and treatment, some other novel modalities have also been investigated for their potential role in rabies treatment, such as protein and peptide vaccine, nucleic acid-based vaccine, RNA interference (RNAi), and RIG, coupled with BBB permeability enhancing agents such as monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1).
5. Conclusions
Rabies continues to pose a severe burden to public health and is ranked one of the most fatal diseases. It causes tens of thousands of human deaths annually, particularly in developing countries. Currently, dogs remain the main source of rabies and are responsible for almost 99% of fatal rabies cases in humans.
Acknowledgments
We are grateful to Yongxin Yu (National Institutes for Food and Drug Control) for the generous technical assistance and advice. We also acknowledge support from Jincai Wang (Shenzhen Weiguang Biological Products Co., Ltd.). This work was financially supported by the Guangdong Engineering Technology Research and Development Center.
Who should get rabies shots?
Rabies vaccine and HyperRAB should be given to all persons suspected of exposure to rabies, with one exception: persons who have been previously immunized with rabies vaccine and have confirmed adequate rabies antibody titer should receive only vaccine.
What are the symptoms of rabies?
2. Rabies Symptoms in Humans3: Fever. Agitation, confusion.
How long after rabies shot can you get hyperrab?
HyperRAB should be administered as promptly as possible after exposure, but can be administered within. 7 days after the first dose of rabies vaccine. HyperRAB and vaccine should never be administered in the gluteal area. Ensure the correct strength is used for the calculation.
What is PEP treatment?
PEP is any preventive medical treatment started immediately after exposure to a pathogen (such as rabies) in order to prevent infection by the pathogen and the development of disease. 7
What are the phases of rabies?
The clinical spectrum of rabies manifestation is divided into 3 phases 1: Prodromal phase. Acute neurologic phase, also known as excitation. Coma phase, also known as terminal. The incubation period of rabies is dependent upon ...
Is hyperrab a rabies globulin?
HyperRAB contains high titers of rabies antibodies for PEP, providing rapid immune protection. Along with appropriate wound cleansing, a human rabies immune globulin such as HyperRAB is recommended by the CDC and World Health Organization (WHO) to be administered at the same time as the rabies vaccine in previously unvaccinated persons immediately following a transdermal bite or scratch by an animal suspected of being rabid. 2,10
Is rabies the deadliest disease in the world?
Rabies remains the world's deadliest infectious disease, 5,6 but death is preventable with education, training, and timely and appropriate treatment. ~Stephen Scholand, MD. hcp_treatment_guidelines_2.
What are the side effects of rabies shots?
Mild, local reactions to the rabies vaccine, such as pain, redness, swelling , or itching at the injection site, have been reported.
What is PEP in rabies?
Postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) consists of a dose of human rabies immune globulin (HRIG) and rabies vaccine given on the day of the rabies exposure, and then a dose of vaccine given again on days 3, 7, and 14.
Is rabies prevention a serious matter?
Rabies prevention is a serious matter and changes should not be made in the schedule of doses. Patient assistance programs that provide medications to uninsured or underinsured patients are available for rabies vaccine and immune globulin.
Can you transmit rabies to other people?
People cannot transmit rabies to other people unless they themselves are sick with rabies. PEP will protect you from developing rabies, and therefore you cannot expose other people to rabies. You can continue to participate in your normal activities.
Can rabies cause headaches?
Rarely, symptoms such as headache, nausea, abdominal pain, muscle aches, and dizziness have been reported. Local pain and low-grade fever may follow injection of rabies immune globulin. The vaccine should be given at recommended intervals for best results.
Does PEP include rabies?
For people who have never been vaccinated against rabies previously , postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) should always include administration of both HRIG and rabies vaccine.
