Rabies

Background of Illness

Rabies is another acute viral illness causing encephalitis like illness, infection is usually spread by scratch or bite of a rabid animal and most frequently a dog, but in some parts of the country, bats, cats and monkeys are also sources of exposure. Symptoms of the illness include temperature, fever, headache, aches and pains. This then leads to excessive thirst, hallucinations which can lead to manic behaviour followed by coma and paralysis. Rabies is almost always fatal and death results from respiratory failure. There is no specific treatment other than supportive care when the clinical symptoms develop. Rabies in animals can occur in all continents except in Antartica, but no case has been found in UK since 1902.

Vaccine Facts

The vaccination is a three dose injections, it is a licensed vaccine. Dosage and schedule for three exposure injections are given on Day 0, 7 and 28, they are given in a muscle on the upper arm, it can be given at the same time as other vaccines, but at a different site. It can also be given to those individuals who have contracted an illness, post exposure vaccination depends on the risk assessment that is with those people with no risk from a immunised animal where the people with high risk require up to five dosages of the vaccine.