How rabies is transmitted from animals to humans. How is rabies transmitted from cats to humans? In dogs, rabies usually develops in three stages

Once symptoms appear, as a rule, the patient cannot be saved.

You can only become infected with rabies 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 cornea transplantation have been described).

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

The most dangerous wild animal carriers are foxes (the main reservoir of infection) and wolves. Domestic: cats and dogs. Rodents (squirrels, rabbits, mice, rats, Guinea pigs) pose less danger. The greatest likelihood of infection is from foxes and stray dogs living outside the city in the spring and summer.

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

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

The incubation period for immunized people averages 77 days, and for non-immunized people it averages 54 days. The likelihood of infection depends on the circumstances (for example, if a rabid animal bites a person through clothing, or if the bite causes heavy bleeding, the likelihood of infection will be less). The location of the bite also matters: the closer to the head, the higher the risk of developing the disease, and incubation period- Briefly speaking. But if the disease has already developed, it always proceeds the same way.

One of the most important signs of a human disease is hydrophobia with symptoms of spasm 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 is the symptom of aerophobia - muscle cramps that occur with the slightest movement of air.

Prompt vaccination after exposure to the virus usually prevents the development of symptoms and cures the person. People bitten by rabid or unknown animals are given a rabies vaccination. The latter is combined with the introduction of anti-rabies serum or anti-rabies immunoglobulin deep into the wound and into the soft tissue 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 chances.

Prevention of rabies consists of combating rabies among animals: vaccination against rabies of domestic, stray and wild animals. For people bitten by rabid or unknown animals, local treatment of the wound must be carried out immediately or as soon as possible after the bite or injury; the wound is washed abundantly with soap and water and treated with alcohol or tincture of iodine; if indicated, rabies immunoglobulin is injected deep into the wound and into the soft tissue around it; after local treatment of the wound, immediately specific treatment, which consists of therapeutic and prophylactic immunization with rabies vaccine.

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

• Go to the emergency room immediately, 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 the following information - a description of the animal, its appearance and behavior, the presence of a collar, the circumstances of the bite.
• Carry out the course of vaccinations prescribed by your doctor. No one has been giving forty injections in the stomach for a long time; you will be given a vaccine and sent home. And so on five or six times. A person who has been bitten may be kept in the hospital if his condition is particularly severe, those receiving repeated vaccinations, as well as persons with a disease of the nervous system or allergic disease, pregnant women and persons vaccinated with other vaccinations within the last two months.
• During vaccination and 6 months after it, you must refrain from drinking alcohol.
• It is not recommended to overwork, overcool or, conversely, overheat. It is necessary to remember: rabies is a fatal disease, it cannot be cured, but in the event of a bite or salivation 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 of seeking help after a bite.

In order to prevent infection with rabies, hunters are recommended to receive a course of preventive vaccinations against rabies, and refrain from skinning and butchering animal carcasses until they receive the results of testing dead animals for rabies from a 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 in dogs, regardless of their identity, and, if necessary, in cats.

(c) Management Federal service for supervision in the field of consumer rights protection and human well-being in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug,

Address: Salekhard, st. Titova, 10

What is rabies and when should you be wary of it?

Today, rabies remains one of the most dangerous diseases. This is due to the fact that there is no cure for it, and the frequency of infection is not decreasing. Every year, cases of human rabies are recorded in more than 150 countries around the world. At the same time, about 55 thousand people die every year. These are mainly residents of Asian and African countries, but tragedies occur on other continents as well.

Children are at particular risk for rabies. They are more careless and more often come into contact with animals, not paying attention to threatening symptoms. Almost half of all deaths occur among children under 15 years of age. Every year, more than ten million people are required to be immunized against rabies.

What is rabies

Rabies is one of the most dangerous infectious diseases, which is caused by the Rabies virus. All warm-blooded creatures, including humans, are susceptible to it. The main route of transmission of rabies is through the bites of infected animals. The virus is released into their saliva and, when bitten, enters the bloodstream. In addition, it can end up in a person’s blood through scratches and injuries.

The virus travels from the site of the bite along nerve fibers to the spinal cord and then to the brain. There it multiplies and causes irreversible changes in the brain. And from there it spreads throughout the body, including in saliva. The virus affects nerve cells, causing increased excitability and aggressiveness in the patient, as well as loss of coordination, spasms, paralysis and many other symptoms.

The virus is quite stable in the external environment. He carries it easily low temperatures and can be stored frozen for several months. But when boiled, it dies instantly. Detrimental to the virus and direct Sun rays, as well as ultraviolet light. Almost all disinfectants can kill it.

How does the disease progress in humans?

One of the dangers of rabies is the difficulty in diagnosing it. The incubation period of the disease can vary greatly and can be short, from 9 days, and long, up to 99 days, but on average it is a day. If the bite site is on the head, this period may be shortened, and lengthened if the bite was on the limbs. During the incubation period, a person may feel normal, but sometimes an aching pain in the scar is annoying.

After the incubation period, the first symptoms of the disease appear. They can easily be confused with any other infection, since the most common symptoms are headache, weakness and general malaise, slight fever, runny nose, cough, sore throat and gastrointestinal disorders: for example, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain.

Rabies, symptoms and treatment

After this, acute neurological disorders. A person may alternate between periods of apathy and anxiety, which may also be accompanied by aggressive behavior. The victim may try to run away or attack, hallucinations appear, and the psyche is completely disturbed. It is also common to experience spasms of the laryngeal muscles, which distort the face and lead to vomiting and hiccups. After 1-2 days, cold sticky sweat and profuse salivation are added to the symptoms.

Lasts this period 2-4 days, and if during this time the infected person does not die, then he enters the paralytic stage. The patient comes to his senses and calms down, he can eat and drink, but tachycardia and salivation gradually increase, blood pressure drops, lethargy and apathy increase. Paresis of the limbs and nerves gradually appears. A person’s temperature rises to very high levels, and as a result he dies from paralysis of the respiratory and cardiovascular centers. Last stage lasts 1-3 days.

Usually, 3-7 days pass from the first symptoms to the death of a person. Sometimes the course of the disease can change - for example, after a bat bite there is practically no period of excitement, paralysis begins immediately.

The most likely methods of infection

The rabies virus is contained in the saliva of a sick animal. Infection occurs when the virus enters the bloodstream, usually through a bite. It must be taken into account that the virus can appear in saliva 1-7 days before the first symptoms of the disease, so you can become infected even from an animal that looked healthy.

But a bite is not the only way to transmit the virus, so when contacting wild or stray animals you need to be as careful as possible. Possible routes of transmission of rabies include:

• through contact with the saliva of a rabid animal on the mucous membranes of the nose, eyes, mouth and damaged skin;
• through scratches caused by claws, as animals lick their paws and particles of saliva with the virus may remain on them;
• while cutting up the carcass of a sick animal through scratches and wounds on the hands.

Also in medicine, cases of infection through atypical or unusual routes have been described - for example, through airborne droplets, which is only possible with a very high concentration of the virus in the air that is practically not found in nature. Isolated cases of infection through the placenta during pregnancy and during tissue and organ transplantation have been recorded. There have also been cases of animals becoming infected through the digestive tract after eating raw meat, people haven’t gotten infected like that yet. This is due to the fact that the virus can very rarely penetrate the blood and glandular organs, and when cooked it dies instantly.

How not to get rabies

Sometimes people's fear of contracting rabies reaches such a level that they come to the hospital for vaccination, even when there is no threat of infection. The possibility of infection is excluded when:

• the animal's saliva came into contact with intact skin;
• the bite fell on the fabric of the clothing, and it was not damaged;
• the wound was left by the claws of a bird;
• boiled meat or milk of a sick animal was consumed;
• bitten by a domestic animal that has been vaccinated against rabies for a year and does not have danger signs, with a non-dangerous localization of the bite.

If a pet is bitten, it is necessary to monitor it. If signs of the disease appear, it is necessary to begin a course of vaccination of the bitten person. A bite from any animal is a situation where you need to be careful, since a cure for rabies has not yet been invented.

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Rabies - features, signs and symptoms, infection, diagnosis, prevention and treatment

Rabies is viral disease, caused by the rabies virus Rabies virus, is observed in warm-blooded animals and humans. It is transmitted through saliva from an animal bite. Severe progressive damage to the central nervous system is observed (through damaged skin, the virus moves to the nerve endings, then to the spinal cord and brain). The disease is fatal to humans when symptoms develop, which can only be prevented by urgent vaccination.

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Peculiarities

Rabies is a life-threatening condition that causes tens of thousands of deaths each year. Dogs are the most common source of the virus.

According to the World Health Organization, up to a human die from rabies every year. Ninety-nine percent of them were bitten by a rabid dog. However, the availability of vaccines for both animals and humans has led to a sharp decline in rabies cases.

Rabies is caused by a virus that attacks the central nervous system, especially causing inflammation in the brain. Domestic dogs, cats, rabbits and wild animals such as skunks, raccoons and bats can spread the virus to humans through bites and scratches. The key to fighting the virus is to respond quickly.

Signs and symptoms of rabies

In humans, the main symptom of rabies is hydrophobia (fear of water), which manifests itself when trying to drink, then at the sight of water and when mentioning it. Convulsive contractions of the swallowing muscles, a feeling of fear, convulsions, and shortness of breath are also observed. Seizures occur from sound and light stimuli; the patient comes and begins to destroy, break, and throw himself at people; after this “violent” attack, a “quiet” attack begins - a sign of the onset of ascending paralysis. This is followed by respiratory arrest and death of the patient.

The period between the bite and the onset of symptoms is called the incubation period. In general, it usually takes 4 to 12 weeks for symptoms of rabies to appear when a person is infected. However, incubation periods can also vary from a few days to up to six years.

The onset of rabies begins with flu-like symptoms, including:

• Increased body temperature;
• Muscle weakness;
• Tingling.

You may also feel a burning sensation at the bite site.

In addition to these main symptoms, the following are also observed: temperature 37°C, depressed state, bad dream, insomnia, anxiety, the bite site hurts (even if the wound has healed). As the virus continues to attack the central nervous system, two different types of disease can develop.

Excited frenzy

Infected individuals who develop excited rabies will be hyperactive and excitable and may exhibit erratic behavior. Other symptoms include:

• Insomnia;
• Anxiety;
• Confusion;
• Agitation;
• Hallucinations;
• Excessive salivation;
• Problems with swallowing;
• Fear of water.

Paralytic rabies (silent rabies)

This form of rabies takes longer to complete, but the effects are just as severe. Infected individuals slowly become paralyzed, eventually falling into a coma and dying. According to the World Health Organization, 30% of rabies cases are paralytic.

How do people become infected with rabies?

Rabies viruses (wilding virus, “mad dog” virus) are quickly destroyed in the external environment.

Animals with rabies transmit the virus to other animals and people through saliva after being bitten or scratched. However, any contact with mucous membranes or an open wound can also spread the virus. Transmission of this virus is believed to be exclusively from animal to animal and animal to human. While person-to-person transmission of the virus is extremely rare, a few cases have been reported following corneal transplantation.

When a person is bitten, the virus spreads through the nerves to the brain. The virus multiplies quickly in the brain. This activity causes severe inflammation brain and spinal cord, after which the person’s condition quickly deteriorates and the person dies. It is important to note that bites or scratches to the head and neck are thought to precipitate involvement of the brain and spinal cord due to the location of the initial injury. If you are bitten on the neck, seek help as soon as possible.

Animals that can spread rabies

The main symptom of an animal's disease is a change in its behavior: a domestic, kind animal becomes aggressive, and a wild one willingly makes contact.

Both wild and domestic animals can spread the rabies virus. The following animals are the main sources of rabies infection in humans:

Who is at risk of rabies?

For most people, the risk of contracting rabies is relatively low. However, there is a certain group of people who may be at higher risk of contracting rabies. These include:

• Living in an area inhabited by bats;
• Travel to developing countries;
• Living in rural areas, where there is greater exposure to wildlife and little or no access to vaccines and immune globulin preventive therapy;
• Frequent camping and exposure to wild animals;
• Under 15 years of age (rabies is most common in this age group);

Although dogs are responsible for the majority of rabies cases worldwide, bats are responsible for the majority of rabies deaths in the Americas.

How do doctors diagnose rabies?

There's no test to detect early stages rabies infection. Once symptoms appear, a blood or tissue test will help your doctor determine whether you have the disease. If you have been bitten by a wild animal, doctors will usually give a preventative rabies vaccine to stop the infection before symptoms appear.

As a rule, laboratory diagnostics are not carried out, but there is a method for detecting the rabies virus antigen in prints from the surface of the eye.

Can rabies be cured?

After contracting the rabies virus, a person may have a series of injections to prevent infection. Rabies immunoglobulin, which gives an immediate dose of rabies antibodies to fight the infection, helps prevent the virus from entering. Then, getting the rabies vaccine is key to preventing the disease. The rabies vaccine is given in a series of five injections over 14 days.

Animal control will likely try to find the animal that bit you so it can be tested for rabies. If the animal is not rabid, you can avoid injections. However, if the animal cannot be found, the safest course of action is to take preventive measures.

Getting a rabies vaccine as soon as possible after an animal bite is the best way to prevent infection. Doctors will treat the wound by washing it for at least 15 minutes with soap and water, detergent, or iodine. They will then give immunoglobin and the series of injections for the rabies vaccine will begin. This protocol is known as “post-exposure prophylaxis.”

Side effects of rabies treatment

Rabies vaccine and immune globulin may very rarely cause some side effects, including:

• Pain, swelling, or itching at the injection site;
• Headache;
• Nausea;
• Abdominal pain;
• Muscle pain;
• Dizziness.

How to prevent rabies

Rabies is a preventable disease. There are a few simple steps you can take to avoid contracting rabies:

1. Receive a rabies vaccination before traveling to developing countries, working in close contact with animals, or working in a laboratory that processes the rabies virus.
2. Vaccinate your pets.
3. Report stray animals to animal control.
4. Avoid contact with wild animals.
5. Keep bats away from living spaces or other structures near your home.

You should report any signs of an infected animal to your local animal control or health departments.

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Rabies

Etiology

The virus is especially pathogenic for warm-blooded animals and many species of birds.

Causes of infection

Nutritional route, that is, through water or food;

Transplacental, through the maternal placenta to the fetus;

When transplanting an organ removed from a sick person.

Manifestations of rabies in dogs

Manifestations of rabies in cats

Stage 2. At first there is excitement and irritability. The cat stops eating regular food, but gnaws or swallows small pebbles, pieces of wood and other inedible objects.

The main symptom of rabies is a fear of water. Due to a spasm of the pharyngeal muscles, the animal stops swallowing water and appears copious discharge saliva. Begin sharp changes in behavior: sometimes she rushes at people and relatives, sometimes she lies exhausted for a long time. Any external stimulus, be it a bright flash of light or a loud sound, causes a new attack of aggression.

Pathogenesis

How does rabies manifest in humans?

Upon examination, an accelerated pulse, dilated pupils, muscle tension, convulsions, increased sweating, and disturbance of the nervous system (peripheral) in the form of paresis or paralysis are noted.

The duration of the stage is 1–3 days. At the end of the period, delirium, hallucinations, incoherent speech, a change in excitement to attacks of aggression and rage are possible, during which the patient may bite others.

Many infected people die at this stage, before reaching the next one.

The patient is mistaken in thinking that he is getting better, but the decline in the functions of the circulatory system continues to increase: arterial pressure falls, tachycardia intensifies. Due to dehydration, facial features become sharper, the patient loses weight sharply, and oliguria develops. Functional disorders of the pelvic organs progress. Body temperature reaches 420 C. Sudden death without agony occurs from paralysis of the respiratory center and heart approximately 18–20 hours after the symptoms increase.

Diagnosis of rabies

Clinical picture characteristic of rabies;

It is possible to detect the virus intravitally by a laboratory method in an imprint from the surface of the eye shell.

According to Rospotrebnadzor, the annual increase in the incidence of rabies in Russia is 10%. Timely vaccination prevents rabies infection in 97–99% of cases.

Final confirmation of the diagnosis is possible only after the patient has died. To do this, a number of studies are carried out:

Immunofluorescent test to detect the rabies virus in the salivary glands and brain tissue;

A biological test based on intracerebral infection of laboratory rodents with subsequent (post-mortem) examination of their brain cells for the presence of Babes-Negri tumors.

Treatment of rabies

2. Quarantine for the patient, ensuring a calm environment and constant care;

3. Stabilization of water-mineral balance;

4. Reduction intracranial pressure using lumbar puncture;

5. Tracheotomy and artificial ventilation.

How is the rabies virus transmitted?

Modern science and medicine today are absolutely powerless in the fight for the lives of people infected with rabies. Since there is no medicine anywhere in the world that can resist this virus, and the number of cases of infection is not decreasing. More than 150 countries around the world are suffering from the effects of the rabies virus.

The statistics are disappointing: every year more than 50 thousand people die as a result of the disease. The virus mainly affects residents of Asian and African countries.

Children are most at risk of infection, because half of the registered cases of infection occur in young patients under 16 years of age. Children are the most trusting of animals and come into contact with them more often than adults, which leads to the most dire consequences. To prevent the disease, the population is immunized against rabies every year, which affects more than 10 million people.

What is the disease?

Rabies is viral infection, which destroys nerve cells of the central nervous system. The disease occurs with pronounced symptoms nervous disorder(aggression, dementia) and ultimately leads to the death of the body.

The main causative agent of the disease is a virus that quietly penetrates the immune and nervous systems, rapidly spreads throughout the body and destroys various parts of the spinal cord and brain. As a result, many functions of the central nervous system fail, and the virus infects nerve tissue the body, mucous membranes, and the skin suffers.

Causes

The viral infection is transmitted from an infected four-legged animal to humans. This occurs after the bite of a wild infected animal. There is another option - transmission of rabies through a scratch or open wound/abrasion on the human body, when infected saliva of a four-legged animal gets onto the damaged area or open mucous membrane. Rabies carriers are not only wild animals. Livestock and domestic animals can also become infected from another animal. Most often, carriers of the virus are wild foxes, badgers, raccoons, hedgehogs, wolves, and rodents. Among domestic animals, the most affected are livestock, dogs and cats, which have free range and can encounter wild animals.

The speed of infection depends on many factors. For example, the location of the bite, its depth and the intensity of the animal’s salivation are taken into account. Considered especially dangerous lacerations on the face, in the area of ​​the head and hands of the upper limbs of a person.

There are cases of transmission of rabies from person to person. But they are exceptions to the rule rather than statements. The routes of transmission of infection are similar; infection occurs in the same way as in the case of animals - through saliva and open mucous membranes.

How not to become infected with an infectious disease

A person in a panic is prone to overestimate the situation and, in a state of panic and fear, rushes headlong to the hospital for rabies vaccination, even in cases where this is not required. Cases where there is no threat of rabies infection:

• rabies cannot be transmitted if the animal’s saliva gets on an intact area of ​​the skin and does not touch the mucous membranes;
• the scratch or other damage to the skin was caused by a bird;
• during the attack, the animal did not even damage outer clothing, contact with the body was excluded;
• consumed processed (boiled, fried) meat or boiled milk from infected cattle;
• the bite was made by an animal that had been vaccinated within a year and had no pronounced signs illness;
• the viral infection is found exclusively in the animal’s saliva. There is no infection in the urine, feces or blood.

There is such a thing as lysophobia - the fear of becoming infected with rabies. It's pretty rare disease and is treated using psychotherapeutic methods or hypnosis.

It is known how rabies is transmitted, but you need to know that if a pet is bitten, it is necessary to monitor it. If within a few days the animal begins to show signs of infection, it is necessary to immediately begin vaccinating the affected person. It is important to know how you can become infected with the virus and avoid such situations, because modern world there is no panacea for rabies.

Symptoms

The incubation period can last differently for each person, because its duration depends on the location of the bite and the depth of the lesion. If the area of ​​the head or face is affected, this is approximately a day; if the foot or leg is bitten, this period can last up to a year, accompanied by unpleasant sensations. There have been cases around the world where dog rabies manifested itself only 2-3 years after the bite.

There are three periods of the disease: depression, agitation and paralysis.

The first period is depression. During this period, a person infected with rabies may feel a burning sensation and itching in previously affected areas. Sometimes it is possible to feel swelling and hyperemia in the area of ​​the previous wound.

A person’s nervous system is depressed, he has no mood, loss of appetite and sleep, anxiety states, panic, fear, apathy towards everything.

The next period is excitement. It can begin to act on the third day and manifest itself with a high temperature, over 37 degrees. At the same time, various phobias may develop, for example, aerophobia or hydrophobia, heart rate may increase, blood pressure may increase, etc. The patient becomes aggressive, may behave inappropriately, rudely, salivation increases, and speech sometimes becomes slurred.

Most brightly pronounced symptom hydrophobia is a constant thirst in which a person cannot drink water due to spasms of the respiratory-swallowing system. In the future, spasms overcome the patient even in the absence of thoughts about water. Because of this, aggressiveness and anger are gaining even greater momentum.

Due to constant nervous tension, periods of excitement begin to increase and become more vivid. A person with rabies may lose clarity of consciousness, experience visual and auditory hallucinations. At the same time, be completely adequate between attacks and be aware of what is happening to him. This period can last about 3 days.

The paralytic period is the final one. During this period, the stage of excitement gives way to depression. The patient experiences apathy. The muscles of the body stop contracting involuntarily, and the spasm goes away. The body temperature rises sharply, the heart begins to contract faster, paralysis of the limbs and immobilization appear. Paralysis affects cardiovascular system, respiratory organs and death in this case are inevitable. You can extend the patient's life by several hours or days with the help of artificial ventilation lungs, but death will occur in about a day or two.

Diagnosis of the disease

In order to correctly and quickly identify the diagnosis, it is necessary to take into account the following nuances:

• detection of the site of an animal bite or scratch on a person;
• presence of signs characteristic of rabies;
• laboratory tests of the eye shell, in which the virus can be identified by an imprint of the surface of the eye shell.

To eliminate the risk of rabies infection, it is necessary to carry out vaccination on time, which prevents infection in 98% of cases, since this problem is very serious and leads to irreversible consequences - death.

Unfortunately, final confirmation of the diagnosis can only be after the death of the patient. It is carried out using the following means:

• histological examination for the presence of Babes-Negri bodies in the body. The cerebral cortex, cerebellum and amnon horn are examined;
• biological puncture. Brain cells of experimental rodents that receive a dose of intracerebral infection are being studied;
• immunofluorescence test. Nerve tissue, salivary glands and brain cells are examined for the presence of the rabies virus.

Treatment of the virus

When the first symptoms appear, you need urgent Care with hospitalization of the patient, because you can become infected with rabies immediately after being bitten.

Are there effective treatments for this disease? No, there is symptomatic therapy to alleviate the patient's condition and alleviate suffering.

People with the rabies virus should be placed in a warm room or ward, free from bright light and noise. An enema of morphine, diphenhydramine, aminazine or pantopon is promptly administered.

For severe cramps respiratory tract and the inability to independently inhale air, the patient is connected to an artificial lung ventilation system, which will prolong his life. Immunoglobulin if available clinical symptoms powerless in the fight against this disease.

Everyone wonders if rabies can be overcome. But in the history of medicine, there are only isolated cases of recovery without further consequences after a full course of immunization with vaccines. In other cases, the prognosis is disappointing - the person will face inevitable death.

Preventive measures

Primary prevention should consist not only of studying the question of whether it is possible to become infected with rabies from domestic animals and how people become infected among themselves. But it must also identify foci of infection and methods to combat them. It is necessary to monitor the health and proper care of pets, carry out their timely vaccinations, and help catch stray dogs.

All infected animals must be immediately killed and taken to the laboratory for study and research of biomaterial. It is especially important in cases where a person has suffered from this animal. If an apparently healthy dog ​​has been bitten or otherwise injured by a person, it is isolated in a special room above to monitor behavior and exclude rabies infection.

For those who have constant contact with animals, vaccination is simply necessary, because infection can occur even while feeding the animal.

There is a division into specific and nonspecific methods of prevention. In the first case, various types of immunization are carried out using anti-rabies immunoglobulin and serum, as well as a special culture vaccine. All these methods must be used comprehensively, because this is the only way they will give an effective result.

Nonspecific prevention consists of aseptic treatment of wounds using a soap solution, running clean water and iodine. Do not injure the wound by excising the damaged edges. Treatment of the wound ends with covering the damage with a special anti-rabies powder based on globulin.

Features of vaccination

Treatment after the appearance of signs and first symptoms is no longer effective, so rabies can only be prevented in advance through prevention and vaccination.

Rabies vaccinations are indicated in the following cases:

• attack by an obviously unhealthy animal with all signs of infection open areas skin;
• infection can be transmitted through injury by objects containing saliva of an infected animal;
• scratches from an animal that died shortly after the incident for unknown reasons;
• due to the bite of a rodent (these animals are often carriers of various types of infections);
• contact with the saliva of an infected person, but only in cases where it gets on the mucous membrane or on an open wound;
• rabies can be transmitted through sexual contact (oral sex).

Rabies vaccination can cause a number of side effects: redness, various rashes, weakness or lethargy, dyspeptic disorders, fever, headache. But all these possible consequences are incomparable with the consequences of infection.

Vaccination can be carried out on an outpatient basis or in a hospital, it all depends on the desire and degree of damage of the patient.

After the vaccine is administered, you need to limit yourself in certain things: alcoholic drinks must be excluded not only for the period of the vaccine, but also for up to six months after it.

The information on the site is provided solely for popular informational purposes, does not claim to be reference or medical accuracy, and is not a guide to action. Do not self-medicate. Consult your healthcare provider.

• Rabies is a vaccine-preventable viral disease that occurs in more than 150 countries and territories.
• In the vast majority of human deaths from rabies, the source of infection is dogs, which account for up to 99% of all cases of rabies transmission to humans.
• Elimination of rabies can be achieved through dog vaccination and bite prevention.
• Tens of thousands of people die from this infection every year, mainly in Asia and Africa.
• 40% of people bitten by animals with suspected rabies are children under 15 years of age.
• Immediate, thorough cleaning of the wound with soap and water after contact with a suspected rabid animal is critical and can save lives.
• WHO, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Global Alliance Against Rabies (GARA) have launched the United Against Rabies partnership to develop a common strategy to reduce to zero human deaths from rabies by 2030.

Rabies is an infectious viral disease that almost always ends after the onset of clinical symptoms. fatal. In almost 99% of cases, transmission of the rabies virus to humans occurs from domestic dogs. However, rabies can affect both domestic and wild animals. It is transmitted to humans through bites or scratches, usually via saliva.

Rabies is present on every continent except Antarctica, with 95% of human deaths occurring in the Asian and African regions.

Rabies is a neglected tropical disease that predominantly affects poor and vulnerable populations living in remote rural areas. Although there are effective rabies vaccines and immunoglobulins for human use, they are not always available or accessible to those in need. In general, rabies deaths are rarely reported in official reports. The victims are often children aged 5 to 14 years. Considering that average cost A course of post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for rabies can cost US$40 in Africa and US$49 in Asia, such treatment can pose a catastrophic financial burden for affected families whose daily income averages US$1-2 per person.

Every year, more than 15 million people worldwide are vaccinated after being bitten. This is estimated to prevent hundreds of thousands of rabies deaths each year.

Prevention

Elimination of rabies in dogs

Rabies is a vaccine-preventable disease. Vaccination of dogs represents the most cost-effective strategy for preventing rabies in humans. Vaccination of dogs reduces mortality due to rabies and reduces the need for AEDs as part of medical care for dog bite victims.

Rabies Awareness and Dog Bite Prevention

Dog behavior education and bite prevention among both children and adults is a critical extension of the rabies vaccination program and can reduce both the incidence of rabies in humans and the financial burden associated with treatment for dog bites. Raising awareness of rabies prevention and control in communities includes education and dissemination of information about responsible pet ownership, dog bite prevention, and immediate response after a bite. Participation and ownership of the program at the community level enhances outreach and uptake of key messages.

Preventive immunization of people

There are vaccines intended for humans for preventive immunization before contact with animals. They are recommended for people involved in certain high-risk activities, such as laboratory workers working with live rabies viruses and other rabies-causing viruses (lyssaviruses), and those professionally or non-professionally involved in activities where direct contact with bats, predators or other mammals that may act as carriers of infection.

Preventive immunization is also recommended for people traveling to remote areas affected by rabies who plan to spend a lot of time outdoors, caving or mountaineering. People traveling long distances or moving permanently to areas with a high risk of rabies should be vaccinated if local access to rabies drugs is limited. Finally, the feasibility of immunizing children living in or visiting remote, high-risk areas should be considered. Children may suffer more serious bites when playing with animals or may not report bites.

Symptoms

The incubation period for rabies usually lasts 2-3 months, but can vary from 1 week to 1 year depending on factors such as the site of entry of the rabies virus and the viral load. Initial symptoms Rabies symptoms include fever and pain, as well as unusual or unexplained tingling, pinching, or burning sensations (paresthesia) at the wound site. As the virus spreads through the central nervous system, progressive, fatal inflammation of the brain and spinal cord develops.

There are two forms of this disease:

• People with violent rabies show signs of hyperactivity, agitated behavior, hydrophobia (fear of water) and sometimes aerophobia (fear of drafts or fresh air). Death occurs within a few days as a result of cardiorespiratory arrest.
• Paralytic rabies accounts for about 20% of all human cases. This form of rabies is less dramatic and usually lasts longer than the violent form. The muscles gradually become paralyzed, starting at the site of the bite or scratch. Coma slowly develops and death eventually occurs. The paralytic form of rabies is often misdiagnosed, which contributes to underreporting of the disease.

Diagnostics

Available at this moment diagnostic tools are not suitable for detecting rabies infection before clinical symptoms of the disease appear and until special features rabies, such as hydrophobia or aerophobia, staging clinical diagnosis may be difficult. Intravital and postmortem confirmation of rabies in humans can be carried out using various diagnostic techniques, aimed at identifying the whole virus, viral antigens or nucleic acids in infected tissues (brain, skin, urine or saliva).

Transmission of infection

Infection in humans usually occurs as a result of a deep bite or scratch inflicted by an animal that has rabies, with 99% of transmissions to humans occurring from rabid dogs. Africa and Asia have the heaviest burden of human rabies, and these regions account for 95% of rabies deaths occurring worldwide.

In the Americas, bats are now the main source of infection in most human deaths from rabies, as transmission from dogs has largely been interrupted in this region. In addition, bat rabies is emerging as a new threat to human health in Australia and Western Europe. Human deaths resulting from contact with foxes, raccoons, skunks, jackals, mongooses and other species of wild predatory animals that carry rabies are very rare. There is no evidence to support the transmission of rabies through rodent bites.

Transmission of infection can also occur if infectious material (usually saliva) comes into direct contact with mucous membranes or fresh wounds on a person's skin. Human-to-human transmission through a bite is theoretically possible, but has never been confirmed.

Transmission of rabies from inhalation of aerosols containing the virus or from transplantation of infected organs occurs very rarely. Humans have never been infected with rabies by eating raw meat or other animal tissue.

Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP)

Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) involves providing immediate care to a person who has been bitten after exposure to rabies. This prevents the virus from entering the central nervous system, which inevitably leads to death. The PEP is as follows:

• copious rinsing and local treatment wounds as soon as possible after contact;
• a course of immunization with a powerful and effective rabies vaccine that meets WHO standards;
• if indicated, administration of rabies immunoglobulin (RAI).

Efficient health care Treatment given soon after exposure suggesting a risk of rabies infection can prevent the onset of symptoms and death.

Copious rinsing of the wound

Recommended first aid procedures include immediately and thoroughly washing the wound with soap and water, detergent, povidone-iodine, or other rabies virus-killing substances for at least 15 minutes.

Depending on the severity of contact with an animal that is suspected of being infected with rabies, it is recommended to carry out PEP according to the following scheme (see table):

Table: Exposure categories and recommended post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP)
Categories of contact with a suspected rabid animal	Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP)
Category I - touching or feeding animals, animals licking intact skin	Not required
Category II - compression of exposed skin due to a bite, minor scratches or abrasions without bleeding	Immediate vaccination and local wound treatment
Category III - single or multiple transdermal bites or scratches, licking of damaged skin; contamination of mucous membranes with saliva from licking, contact with bats.	Immediate vaccination and administration of rabies immunoglobulin; local wound treatment

• the mammal that bit a person is known to be a species that carries or transmits rabies
• exposure occurs in a geographic area where rabies is still present
• the animal appears sick or exhibits abnormal behavior
• the wound or mucous membrane has been contaminated with animal saliva
• the bite was unprovoked
• the animal is not vaccinated.

The availability of vaccine in a suspect animal should not be the deciding factor in deciding whether to initiate PEP if the animal's immunization is in doubt. This may include situations where canine vaccination programs are not well regulated or are not monitored due to lack of resources or low priority.

WHO continues to strengthen rabies prevention in humans through the elimination of rabies in dogs, strategies to prevent dog bites, and the expanded use of intradermal AEDs, which reduce the volume and therefore reduce the cost of cell culture vaccine by 60-80%.

Comprehensive management of bite cases

If possible, the veterinary service should be notified, the biting animal should be identified and quarantined for observation (this applies to healthy dogs and cats). Alternatively, the animal may be euthanized for immediate laboratory analysis. Prophylaxis must be continued for a 10-day observation period or until laboratory results. Preventative treatment may be interrupted if it is confirmed that the animal was not infected with rabies. If an animal with suspected rabies cannot be caught and tested, the full course of prophylaxis must be completed.

WHO activities

Rabies included in road map WHO Neglected Tropical Diseases. As it is a zoonotic disease, close intersectoral coordination is required at the national, regional and global levels.

Global activities

The United Against Rabies Partnership is a global program aimed at achieving zero human deaths from rabies by 2030.

In 2015, WHO, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and the Global Rabies Alliance (GARA) adopted a joint strategy to achieve zero human deaths from rabies by 2030 and created the United Against Rabies partnership.

This initiative is the first example of a joint effort between the human and animal health sectors to advocate for and prioritize investment in rabies control, and to coordinate global efforts to eliminate rabies. "Global strategic plan aims to achieve zero human rabies deaths by 2030: Zero cases by 2030.” will guide and support countries in developing and implementing their national rabies elimination plans based on the One Health approach and through cross-sectoral collaboration.

Monitoring and surveillance of the disease must be a central component of any rabies control program. Designating a disease as a notifiable disease is critical to establishing an effective reporting system. Such a system should include mechanisms for the transfer of data from community level to national level, as well as to the OIE and WHO. This will ensure feedback, providing an opportunity to judge the effectiveness of the program and allow action to be taken to overcome weaknesses.

The availability of rabies vaccine supplies for both dogs and humans has a catalytic effect on rabies eradication efforts. WHO is working with partners to forecast global needs for human and canine vaccines and rabies immunoglobulin to assess global production potential and explore opportunities for bulk procurement for countries through the WHO/UNICEF (vaccines and RIGs for humans) and OIE mechanisms /WHO (animal vaccines).

In 2016, the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) established a working group on rabies vaccines and immunoglobulins. The working group is currently reviewing the scientific evidence, related programmatic aspects and costs associated with its use. In particular, it will consider issues such as intradermal vaccine administration, shorter vaccination schedules, and the potential exposure to new biological agents. Recommendations resulting from this work will be considered by SAGE in October 2017 to update WHO's position on rabies immunization.

WHO supported research in rabies-endemic countries

With support from WHO, selected countries in Africa and Asia are conducting prospective and retrospective studies to collect data on dog bites and rabies cases, PEP and follow-up, vaccine needs and program options.

Preliminary results from studies in Cambodia, Kenya and Vietnam confirm that:

• children under 15 years of age are exposed to increased risk exposure to the rabies virus, and such exposure occurs mainly through dog bites;
• Factors contributing to treatment adherence include both the availability of biologics and the cost of AEDs; And
• reporting at the health system level underestimates detected cases of rabies in humans and dogs compared to community systems.

Upon completion of data collection, you will receive Additional Information to support the need for investment in rabies control programs - this is critical to global and regional strategies to achieve zero human deaths from rabies by 2030. In addition, the GAVI Alliance will consider this data in its Vaccine Investment Strategy to include rabies vaccines in its portfolio. A decision is expected at the end of 2018.

Regional and national examples

Since 1983, countries in the Americas have reduced the incidence of rabies by more than 95% in humans and by 98% in dogs. This success was achieved primarily through the implementation of effective policies and programs that Special attention focuses on regionally regulated dog vaccination campaigns, increased public awareness, and widespread distribution and availability of AEDs.

Many countries in the WHO South-East Asia Region have initiated rabies elimination campaigns in line with the target of eliminating the disease from the region by 2020. Bangladesh began its rabies elimination program in 2010, and through bite case management, mass vaccination of dogs and increasing access to free vaccines from 2010-2013. Mortality from rabies among people has decreased by 50% in the country.

In addition, great progress has been made in the Philippines, in South Africa and the United Republic of Tanzania, where pilot projects implemented by WHO through a project of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation recently showed that the number of cases of rabies in humans can be reduced through a combination of interventions such as mass vaccination of dogs, improved access to AEDs, enhanced surveillance and raising public awareness.

The following principles are key to maintaining rabies control programs and expanding them to surrounding areas: start small, build momentum for local rabies programs with comprehensive measures incentives, clearly demonstrate the success and cost-effectiveness of programs and ensure the participation of government and affected communities.

Hello! We went to nature with our child and barbecued there. A 5-year-old child was running around playing, touching trees with his hands and playing with branches that he picked up from the ground, and immediately after that, while I wasn’t looking, he took a piece of shish kebab with these dirty hands and ate it, naturally, before eating it, he from all touched this piece with dirty hands. And there were a lot of wild cats running around there. I have a question: if one of the cats was infected with rabies and there was his drool somewhere on the branches, and the child touched them with his hands and then ate them with these hands, and the child has a lot of fresh scratches on his hands and there is a fresh scratch on his lip, Is it possible to get rabies this way and do you need to get vaccinated against rabies? Thanks in advance for your answer.

Nadezhda, Krasnodar

Hello! There is no risk, nothing needs to be done. With uv., Alexandrov P.A.

Clarification question

QUESTION FOR CLARIFICATION 24.11.2013 Nadezhda, Russia, Krasnodar

Hello! Please also tell me why you can become infected with rabies through a bite and salivation on damaged skin, but if you salivate on an object and then touch it with damaged skin, you cannot become infected? If I understood correctly.

QUESTION FOR CLARIFICATION 25.11.2013 Nadezhda, Russia, Krasnodar

Hello! Tell me, please, how does the described case differ from drooling of the skin, which can lead to rabies infection, because in the described case, drool can also get on the skin?

Rabies is not transmitted this way.

Clarification question

QUESTION FOR CLARIFICATION 10.07.2014 Nechiporenko Marina, Belgorod

Hello! Please tell me, is it possible to become infected with rabies if a kitten’s saliva gets into its mouth and face? The fact is that today the kitten (he hasn’t been vaccinated yet, but he’s already catching mice) was playing with himself and after that saliva foamed on his face. My husband put the kitten in my arms, and he, in turn, shook his head at the very moment when I was talking to my husband, and saliva flew into my mouth. I am now afraid that I might get rabies this way. Please answer, what is the probability of infection?

ANSWERED: 07/11/2014

the general hysteria about rabies is the “merit” of not very smart leaders. I recommend not to worry about this. The child must be taught the rules of hygiene.

Clarification question

In this case, vaccination is most likely not needed

Clarification question

ANSWERED: 10/17/2015

The probability of infection of the animal is not high (it is quite possible that it died for other reasons. It was necessary to contact immediately after contact with the animal, and it would be even more correct to prevent contact)

Clarification question

QUESTION FOR CLARIFICATION 23.12.2015 Elena, Lugansk

QUESTION FOR CLARIFICATION 23.12.2015 Elena, Lugansk

Tell me, is it possible to become infected with rabies if a child scratched his neck with the leg of a chair that was standing in the room where the dog was bathed (after it was bitten by stray dogs) and perhaps it rubbed against the chair?

QUESTION FOR CLARIFICATION 23.12.2015 Elena, Lugansk

Is it possible to become infected with rabies if a child scratches his neck with the leg of a chair that was standing in the room where, 8 hours ago, a domestic dog, drooled and bitten by stray dogs, was brought in and bathed? (so the saliva of other people's dogs could get on this chair) the situation with rabies in this region is unfavorable, due to military operations and the lack of hunting!

Hello! impossible With uv., Alexandrov P.A.

Clarification question

QUESTION FOR CLARIFICATION 24.09.2017 Evgeny Fedotov, Moscow

Hello, but the WHO documents say that you can become infected through contact with saliva, that is, even if I touched (possibly) saliva from a foreign object with a damaged area of ​​skin, is infection possible or not? Thanks in advance.

ANSWERED: 09/26/2017

Hello, good man! They told you that in your case there is no risk. There can be no talk of any events

Clarification question

QUESTION FOR CLARIFICATION 25.07.2018 Andrey, Rostov-on-Don

A dog tried to bite me, but it couldn’t because I removed my leg, but it managed to scratch me with its fang through my pants, but without damaging my pants. Is it possible to get rabies this way?

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23.11.2013	Hello! I already asked you a question about the fact that the dog sniffed and rubbed its muzzle against the child’s pant leg, I also wanted to know: what if the child almost immediately touched these pants with his hands and then with these hands, not washing them, and without wiping them with anything, ate a bun and touched his lips, and his lips are chapped and cracked with blood, could the dog’s drool get into the wounds on his lips in this way, and is it possible to become infected with rabies? And in what cases is infection possible, only through a direct bite or...
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12.07.2017	Hello. Could you please answer next question regarding the possibility of transmission of the rabies virus. Is it possible to become infected by contacting an unprotected area of ​​skin with the saliva of a sick animal in nature? And what should be understood by the term: skin “having damage”, what should be the nature of the damage, approximately how long the virus can exist in the environment. In an environment at t = 20 degrees, is vaccination done by contact with saliva without direct contact with the animal? Thank you very much.
01.11.2017	Hello! The following is very worrying and tormenting: is it possible to spread the rabies virus, if after a walk with the dog I went to wash it and noticed that it looked like it was torn on its ear, it could have been injured by a yard puppy that my dog ​​barked at. I washed the dog with shampoo and treated the area. There was a small scratch on my hand thumb above). Could I have caught the virus? I'm very worried, 10 days have passed. Everything is fine with my dog, but I can’t see the puppy. Thank you in advance.

What is rabies? How is this disease transmitted? You will find answers to the questions posed below. We will also tell you about the manifestations of this disease, its prevention and treatment.

General information about the disease

What is rabies (many people know how this disease is transmitted)? According to experts, this infection. The causative agent of rabies is the Rabies virus, which belongs to the genus Lyssavirus and family Rhabdoviridae.

Another name for the disease in question is “rabies.” Previously, this disease was called hydrophobia, or hydrophobia.

The causative agent of rabies, the Rabies virus, contributes to the development of specific encephalitis, that is, inflammation of the brain in humans and animals.

Features of a viral disease

Until 2005, this disease was considered fatal to humans. There was no reliable evidence of a cure for this disease after the onset of symptoms at that time. Today, free of charge, done immediately after a possible infection, effectively prevents the further spread of the virus.

In 2005, the first case of complete recovery of a person from this disease at the stage of manifestation of its symptoms was recorded. Thus, by 2012, 5 out of 37 people were cured by vaccination.

Rabies: how it is transmitted to humans

The name of the disease in question comes from the word “demon.” This is due to the fact that in ancient times people believed that the cause of this disease was the possession of an animal or person by evil spirits. By the way, Latin name of the disease mentioned - “rabies” has the same meaning.

So what is rabies? How is this disease transmitted? Experts report that the causative agent of this disease is transmitted to humans through saliva when bitten by a sick animal. The virus then spreads through and reaches the salivary glands, brain cells, bulbar centers and hippocampus. Once it affects them, it causes severe disturbances.

Scientific studies have shown that the rabies virus is contained in the animal’s saliva during and 2 days before any symptoms of the disease appear. However, there were cases when even 9-14 days before the appearance of signs in the animal, infection had already occurred from it.

The most dangerous animal bites

Cases of rabies after a bite in humans are not very common. But even without showing any signs of the disease, you should definitely do preventive vaccination. After all, absolutely all people who are bitten are at risk of infection.

Few people know, but the danger of bites may depend on several factors, including:

It should also be noted that in addition to bites, infection with the virus in question can occur in another way. For example, there are known cases of pathogen transmission when a dog licked human skin that had fresh wounds and scratches.

Another way of possible infection is through autopsies on animals or people who have died from rabies.

Is it possible to get infected from a person?

Rabies is very rarely transmitted from person to person. This can only happen if, in a fit of rage, the patient attacks a healthy person, as a result of which his saliva gets on the latter’s skin.

There is also a low chance of infection by inhaling aerosols that contain rabies virus particles.

Despite popular belief, the causative agent of the disease in question cannot pass to humans by eating raw meat of infected animals.

How does rabies manifest itself?

Experts distinguish 3 main stages of the disease in question.

• Prodromal period.

This period usually lasts 1-3 days and is manifested by headache, fever, loss of appetite and fatigue. An infected person experiences neuralgia along the nerves that are located close to the site of the bite. Also in this area there is increased sensitivity of the skin and slight twitching of muscle tissue.

• Excitement stage.

This stage lasts about 5-7 days. It is manifested by temporary attacks of excessive excitement (psychomotor), and is also expressed by sharp hypersensitivity to even minor sensory irritants (for example, bright light, various sounds, noise, etc.).

Patients become very violent and aggressive. They experience hallucinations, a feeling of fear, delirium, paresis, convulsions and paralysis of muscle tissue. In addition, the stage of excitement is accompanied by fever and body temperature up to 40 degrees. As the disease progresses, attacks are observed more and more often, and the interictal periods are significantly shortened.

• Stage of paralysis.

At this stage, all of the above signs are accompanied by symptoms of damage (including paresis of the facial nerve, diplopia, paresis of the facial muscles). There is also paralysis of the eye muscles and impaired swallowing reflexes.

Drooling combined with impaired swallowing leads to foam in the mouth. This characteristic feature for all patients with rabies.

It should also be noted that in half of the cases, infected people and animals have hydrophobia. When drinking liquid, patients experience involuntary and sudden contractions of the diaphragm, as well as other respiratory muscles.

The duration of the disease in question is 50-55 days. Sometimes this period can be reduced to two weeks. Typically, the death of an animal or person occurs due to respiratory arrest due to damage to the respiratory apparatus.

Treatment of rabies in animals and humans

"Nobivak Rabies" - inactivated vaccine, which is a prophylactic agent for immunizing healthy animals against rabies. A single injection allows you to create active immunity in cats and dogs for up to three years, in sheep, horses, goats and cattle - up to two years, and in minks, foxes and ferrets - up to one year.

The increase in immunity after administration of the Nobivak Rabies vaccine usually occurs on the 21st day.

As for people, rabies treatment is carried out in intensive care units. Providing first aid to the victim also plays an important role. The bitten person is given an injection on the same day he goes to the clinic.

Rabies (the virus is described below) is an acute disease of animals and humans caused by a specific rhabdovirus (Greek Rhabdos - stick) of the genus Lissavirus of the Rhabdoviridae family. The rabies virus causes specific encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) in animals and humans. It is transmitted through saliva when bitten by a sick animal.

The disease is definitely fatal. Once clinical signs of rabies appear, there is no chance of survival. In the entire history of human study of rabies, only six cases of human recovery have been described, which does not give reason to believe that rabies can be recovered.

The most important thing is to remain calm and not panic. First, let's figure out which dog bit you. If this animal (dog or cat) belongs to someone you know, find out when they last time Did they give him a rabies vaccination and do they have the appropriate certificate? If the animal is street. You have seen him many times in parking lots, bus stops or somewhere else, watch him. If one is sick, it will die within 10 days. If not, and after 10 days the dog (or cat) is still walking down the street as if nothing had happened, then most likely you should not worry. But if within 10 days the dog disappeared somewhere or you saw that it died (even if it was hit by a car), then run to the doctor.

Transmitted mainly through the bite of a sick animal, it is theoretically possible to transmit rabies from person to person. The infectious onset of the disease is a virus secreted along with the saliva of sick warm-blooded animals.

It manifests itself in increased disturbance of consciousness and increased irritation of the nerves, and then symptoms of paralysis, hydrophobia, and encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) are observed. Then inevitable death comes.

The ability of the virus to infect animals

The rabies virus, entering the body, does not always cause rabies in animals. After a bite inflicted by an animal with rabies, the disease develops in no more than half of the cases of experimental infection of animals. Please note that hereinafter we are talking specifically about animals. There is no data on the “infectivity” of people, because such experiments have not been carried out.

Routes of infection and vectors of rabies

The main carriers of rabies are wild foxes, wolves, bats, and rats. However, they do get rabies all without exception are warm-blooded animals, so the carrier can be any animal, including monkeys and humans.

The rabies virus is released in the saliva of a sick animal and is transmitted by biting or salivation. open wounds. Due to the specific nature of the disease, in which during clinical manifestations there is aggression in the sick animal and a desire to bite any suitable object, the virus quite easily enters the blood.

Therefore, biting is the most common and likely route of transmission of the virus.

Second possible way transmission - salivation of open wounds, abrasions, scratches on the body of sick animals. This route of transmission is also quite common, especially in the case of domestic animals with rabies.

Development of rabies in the body

Once the rabies virus invades any part of the body, it spreads in a very specific manner, moving along nerve fibers to the central nervous system. That is why the incubation period can be very long (up to 1 year). The time from infection to the appearance of the first clinical signs depends on the location of infection and the amount of virus that has entered the body.

Once in the nervous system, the virus begins to spread along the nerve pathways in a centrifugal direction, reaching the spinal cord and brain, causing paresis, paralysis and encephalitis in the final stage of the disease.

Moving to the brain, the virus also invades the salivary glands and begins to be excreted in saliva several days (3-5) before the main clinical signs of the disease appear.

It is extremely likely that the rabies virus causes poisoning of the body with chemical compounds, a poison, the essence of which is unknown.

The rabies virus extremely rarely overcomes the hematoplacental barrier and passes from mother to fetus. Studies of the medulla oblongata of fetuses extracted from she-wolves, foxes, and bitches who died from rabies showed the absence of the virus in the fetal brain.

Clinical signs of rabies in dogs

There are three stages of rabies in dogs:

1. Prodromal stage, or the stage of precursors of the disease. During this period, changes in the dog’s behavior in one direction or another are noted. In any case, the behavior is different from usual. The mood of dogs during this period is very changeable and capricious; at times the dog grumbles, growls, hides in dark places, and is reluctant to respond to the owner’s call. Then a sudden change in mood may occur, the dog is caressed, jumps around the owner, behaves as if nothing had happened...

In other cases, dogs may nervously walk around the yard or room, dig in the ground, listen warily to something, or catch imaginary objects in the air with their teeth (the so-called “catching flies”).

At this stage, reflex excitability is already increased, the dog may bite the hand in play, show dissatisfaction or bite other animals, especially dogs. In some cases, symptoms of spontaneous urination and increased libido (sexual desire) are described. Dogs may continually lick their own genitals or “molest” other dogs.

Changes in food intake also occur - the dog may release meat that has already been taken from its mouth, barely touch its favorite food, gnaw and swallow a variety of inedible objects and its own feces. It becomes noticeable that the dog has difficulty swallowing food due to the beginning of inflammation of the IX and XII pairs of nerves.

2. Excitation period characterized by various symptom complexes. It appears after 1-3 days, all of the above symptoms intensify, and anxiety and excitement due to hallucinations drive the dog into a frenzy. Dogs dig the ground with rage, gnaw various objects, tearing them into pieces and swallowing them. The dog tries to run away, hide away from prying eyes, and when placed on a leash, it tries to destroy the chain or enclosure, throwing itself at the walls and bars.

Once released, the dog can run for a very long time, without stopping. Such dogs never return home.

Along the way, the dog may meet other dogs. At the same time she silently attacks them, biting in the head. The dog has no sense of fear completely, while the feeling of aggression dominates over everything else.

Locked in a cage mad dog the violence is observed in fits and starts. Each attack of rage is followed by a period of oppression and depression. In a fit of rage, a dog attacks any object brought to its face, regardless of whether it is a stick or a metal rod. Wherein she attacks without barking and silently. For the purpose of the experiment, a hot metal rod and burning coals were inserted into the dog’s cage during the period of its rampage. The dog also threw himself at these objects... In the period of depression that follows an attack of rage, the dog simply lies motionless, then can stand up, staggering, with a detached expression on its face. Depression will last until the next stimulus (another dog or stick, etc.)

Already at this stage, signs of paralysis due to inflammation in the spinal cord begin to appear.

A change in the dog's voice is characteristic. The barking becomes hoarse, accompanied by a high, drawn-out howl. Difficulty swallowing also occurs due to the beginning of inflammation of the IX and XII pairs of nerves. The dog refuses food and water; touching any irritants in the mouth causes attacks of suffocation and rage. Often, even the sight of water can cause an attack of suffocation (hence the second name of the disease - hydrophobia, i.e. fear of water)

Increased salivation at this stage is significantly pronounced due to difficulty swallowing and hypersecretion of the salivary glands. Spontaneous bowel and bladder emptying is also noted.

3. After 3-4 days, the stage of excitement moves into the last, final stage - paralytic. To the manifested phenomena of paralysis are added paralysis of other parts of the body, primarily muscle paralysis lower jaw, tongue and eyes. The animal is no longer violent, it is depressed and practically does not move. At first, the dog moves, staggering, dragging the back of its body, then it is no longer able to move.

In addition to the “classic” signs of rabies described above, there are some variations in the manifestations of the disease. It should be noted that there is a “silent” form of rabies, especially in indoor dogs that are not prone to aggression. This form is very dangerous because the dog is very affectionate, freely slobbers at the owner, licks him, asks for help... The virus is also released in the saliva and if there are wounds on the owner’s skin or mucous membranes, this can lead to human rabies infection. In addition, the duration of all the above stages may be different for different types, breeds and ages of animals.

Clinical signs of rabies in cats

Basically, the clinical signs of rabies in cats include the same symptoms as in dogs. However, due to natural distrust, the cat is hid in a secluded place from the very beginning and may not leave there until the end of the illness, i.e., until death. In other cases, terrible aggression towards people and dogs is noted. The cat can run out of ambush, throw itself on the face and legs. During the rampage period, a rabid cat is much more dangerous than a dog, because She is naturally very dexterous. Her attack usually ends in a bite to the victim.

Another manifestation of rabies in cats is the “silent form”. In this case, the cat becomes very affectionate, fawns over the owner and tries to lick him... As a result, the owner becomes ill with rabies.

Clinical signs of rabies in humans

At the onset of the disease, a person experiences a depressed state, itching and trembling in the bitten limbs, high temperature and fever. Then difficulty breathing, fearfulness and feelings of anxiety and restlessness, aversion to liquids, increased excitability and seizures in the form of spasms of all muscles of the body appear. Disgust and fear of water manifests itself in the same way as in animals, causing panic at the sight of water due to suffocation.

At the end of the disease, paralysis of the muscles of the face, neck and tongue occurs, followed by paralysis of the limbs and muscles of the torso.

In rare cases, rabies in humans is paralytic from the very beginning.

Diagnosis of rabies

Today in veterinary medicine the only informative and sufficiently exact method diagnosis of rabies in animals. This is a post-mortem study of sections of the ammonium horns of the brain and the discovery of specific inclusions in them - Babes-Negri bodies. Babes-Negri bodies are also present in the cytoplasm of neurons, the hippocampus, Purkinje cells of the cerebellar cortex, brainstem, hypothalamus and dorsal ganglia. These bodies are present in the brain only during rabies; their presence in other diseases, including diseases of the central nervous system, has not been recorded.

Negri found these bodies only in the nervous system of sick animals and always in humans. The bodies were not found in saliva and feces. The nature of Taurus is still controversial.

That is why the corpse of a dead or euthanized animal suspected of having rabies is examined in a laboratory.

Prevention of rabies in animals

The most reliable and effective way to combat rabies is to prevent the disease through vaccination with rabies vaccines.

In Russia today, the market for rabies vaccines is large; both domestic and imported vaccines have passed mandatory certification and are recognized as effective and suitable for use in Russian Federation.

Since the creation of the first rabies vaccine by Louis Pasteur and until now, it has been proposed and tested in veterinary practice. a large number of various rabies vaccines. Some of them did not stand the test of time and were discontinued, for example, brain vaccines.

Currently, inactivated and live cultured rabies vaccines from various strains of the rabies virus are registered, produced and used in Russia.

Human vaccination with rabies vaccines

Vaccination of people means both the introduction into the body of preventive vaccines that prevent a person from developing hydrophobia, and the administration of therapeutic biological drugs after a bite in the order of anti-rabies treatment.

For preventive purposes, the vaccine is administered to people at risk for rabies (veterinarians, forestry employees, rangers, etc.)

WITH therapeutic purpose The vaccine is used after a person has been bitten by an animal suspected of having rabies. It should be noted that a suspect animal is any animal that is not vaccinated against rabies.

In the Russian Federation, the vaccine and globulin COKAB are used.

Rabies is an incurable disease!

From the moment the first clinical signs of rabies appear, a person or animal is doomed to death. Currently there is no data on successful treatment diseases.

Urgent measures if bitten by a dog or other animal

1. Immediately wash the wound with warm water and soap. It is better to use laundry soap, it contains more alkali, and the rabies virus is inactivated by alkalis.

2. The best way to prevent rabies is to call profuse bleeding from the wound. The virus that enters the blood is washed away by the blood flowing from the wound. When choosing between death from rabies and a small cut, which would you prefer? Therefore, if there are great suspicions that the animal is rabid, cut the wound with a knife or blade and press as hard as possible. more blood from the wound.

3. Even if you were bitten by your own dog, cat or other a pet, but you are not sure that the vaccination was done on time and with revaccination, be sure to contact veterinary specialists and the emergency room!

4. Everything related to rabies has the highest priority in our country. Any preventive measures are carried out completely free of charge.

5. Rabies issues are dealt with exclusively by the state veterinary service. Do not waste time and do not seek help from commercial veterinary clinics. You will still be sent to the state veterinary service at your place of residence.

6. Be sure to go to the emergency room at your place of residence. In addition to the tetanus vaccination, you must be offered a course of rabies treatment. In trauma centers, they often suggest that you first examine the dog from a veterinarian and get a certificate that the dog is not rabid. This approach is not entirely correct.

Therefore, if there are no contraindications to the use of rabies vaccines, it is strongly recommended to undergo a course of rabies treatment!