Where Can I Get Rabies Vaccine

Actions Following A Potential Rabies Exposure

The following actions should be taken if a person is bitten or otherwise possibly exposed to a rabid animal:

• Domestic animals: Identify and, if possible, confine the biting animal. Dogs, cats, and ferrets may be quarantined for ten days , or they may be euthanized and tested for rabies. Other domestic animals are handled on a case-by-case basis.
• Wild animals: Identify and, if possible, confine the biting animal for rabies testing. No quarantine period is recognized for wild animals.
• Wash the wound immediately and thoroughly with soap and water for 10 to 15 minutes.
• Consult with a physician to: check the tetanus immunization status, determine if antibiotic treatment is needed for bacterial infection, determine if other medical procedures are necessary, such as sutures in the case of disfiguring wounds, and have a rabies risk assessment accomplished, including determining if the anti-rabies series of shots is warranted.

Make Sure Your Dog Gets The Correct Vaccine

If youre vaccinating a puppy, make sure your vet administers a one-year vaccine initially and a three-year vaccine thereafter.

The one-year and three-year vaccines are virtually identical medically but not under the law. A one-year shot must be followed by re-vaccination a year later.

Note: the one-year shot is not safer than the three-year .

Where Can I Get Low

This rule was created with the help of veterinary medical professionals. Many veterinarians have told us they will help people protect their pets and their communities with low-cost rabies vaccines. You can also contact private veterinarians, animal shelters, and animal organizations in your community who can suggest low-cost options.

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What If The Animal Is Not Available For Observation Or Testing

If you have been bitten or otherwise exposed to the saliva of an animal that is not available for observation or testing, contact your physician, local public health unit or state public health department and local law enforcement. If it was a domestic dog, cat, or ferret, try to locate the animal or the owner of the animal. If the animal cannot be located, speak with your physician, as you may need to start preventive treatment for rabies which will include the rabies vaccine.

How Can I Protect Myself From Rabies

• Vaccinate your domestic dog, cat, or ferret . For more information on each state’s vaccination laws, please see the American Veterinary Medical Association website.

• Avoid contact with wild or stray animals, and domestic/wild hybrid animals.

• Do not touch dead animals.

• Keep wild animals out of homes, workplaces and other dwellings.

• Report stray, sick, and injured animals to local animal control authorities or law enforcement officials.

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Vaccine Is The Best Protection Against Rabies

If you are travelling to an area where rabies is common, it is important to make sure you are up-to-date on your vaccinations. The best way to protect yourself from rabies is to avoid contact with animals, but if you must come into contact with them, make sure you wash any wounds thoroughly with soap and water and see a doctor as soon as possible.

Vaccinating your pets against rabies is also important, as they can be a source of infection for humans. If you think your pet has been exposed to rabies, contact your veterinarian immediately.

How Do You Treat Someone Who Is Bitten By A Potentially Rabid Animal

Treatment of people bitten by an animal that might be rabid should include the following:

• Wash the wound carefully with soap and water.
• Administer rabies immune globulin ,* a preparation of serum obtained from people who have high levels of rabies-specific antibodies in their blood. RIG should be injected in and around the wound to prevent attachment of rabies virus to the nervous system.
• Begin the series of shots of rabies vaccine immediately.*

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How Do You Know If A Dog Has Rabies After Biting

The first symptoms of rabies can appear from a few days to more than a year after the bite happens. At first, theres a tingling, prickling, or itching feeling around the bite area. A person also might have flu-like symptoms such as a fever, headache, muscle aches, loss of appetite, nausea, and tiredness.

What To Do If You Think You May Have Been Exposed To Rabies Virus:

If you think you have been exposed, you should immediately do wound care:

• wash animal saliva off the skin with soap and water and flush broken skin and wounds under a running tap for several minutes
• apply an antiseptic solution such as iodine or alcohol if available
• cover any wounds with a clean bandage or dressing, apply pressure if the wound is bleeding heavily

If your eyes, mouth or nose came in contact with animal saliva immediately rinse thoroughly with clean water.

You must seek medical attention as soon as possible for post exposure treatment. A doctor will:

• assess your wound, and treat it
• decide if you require antibiotics or a tetanus booster
• give you the appropriate post-exposure treatment, this will usually involve 4 doses of rabies vaccines given over 3 weeks and may involve ‘Human Rabies Immunoglobulin’

‘Human Rabies Immunoglobulin’ is a specialised medicine that contains antibodies that can immediately protect you against rabies.

• Following a rabies exposure in a high risk country it may be recommended as part of the treatment if you never been vaccinated against rabies.
• This needs to be given as soon as possible after the exposure, so you need to access medical facilities within 24 hours.
• This treatment is not available in some countries, and may require you having to travel to another nearby country, or even return home to access the necessary treatment.

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How Often Do Cats Need To Get A Rabies Vaccine

There are a number of different brands of rabies vaccines for cats available on the market, and each brand comes with manufacturer guidelines that must be adhered to by the administering veterinarian.

The major differences between feline rabies vaccines are whether they contain an adjuvant or not.

Older vaccines contained materials called adjuvants, which act to boost the immune response to the vaccine. These vaccines worked very well to prevent disease, but in a very small numbers of cats, they were linked to the development of both local reactions and much more serious problems, like growths at the site of the vaccine.

Most veterinarians have now changed to the non-adjuvanted form of the rabies vaccine for cats. Originally, this vaccine was only released as a one-year vaccine. That meant that starting at the age of 12 weeks, a cat would need to receive the vaccine annually to ensure protection from the disease.

Recently, however, a non-adjuvanted three-year vaccine has been made available to veterinarians. This vaccine is only given once every three years after the initial one-year booster.

It is relatively expensive, so many veterinarians still prefer to use the annual form of the non-adjuvanted vaccine.

What If I Have Livestock Exposed To Rabies

All species of livestock are susceptible to rabies. As with domestic pets, livestock that have been vaccinated for rabies should be revaccinated immediately and observed for 45 days. If the animal has not been vaccinated, it should be euthanized. The animal can be used for human consumption if it is slaughtered within 7 days of exposure, provided liberal amounts of the tissue around the exposed area are discarded. Consult with your veterinarian.

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Preparations Authorized For Use In Canada

Rabies vaccines

• IMOVAX®Rabies . Sanofi Pasteur Ltd.
• RABAVERT®, Bavarian Nordic A/S

Rabies immunoglobulins

• IMOGAM®Rabies Pasteurized , Sanofi Pasteur Ltd.
• HYPERRAB®S/D , Grifols Therapeutics Inc.
• HyperRAB®, Grifols Therapeutics LLC.*
• KamRABTM , Kamada Ltd.*
• * NACI has not yet deliberated on the use of KamRAB⢠or HyperRAB®. NACI will review these immunizing agents and update the chapter in due course. For information regarding the use of these immunizing agents in the interim, please refer to the product monograph available through Health Canada’s Drug Product Database.

RabIg is a solution of anti-rabies Ig for IM administration, prepared from the pooled human plasma of screened donors immunized with rabies vaccine. RabIg is available on an emergency basis through local public health officials.

For complete prescribing information, consult the product leaflet or information contained within the product monograph available through the Health Canada’s Drug Product Database. Refer to Contents of Immunizing Agents Authorized for Use in Canada in Part 1 for a list of vaccines and passive immunizing agents authorized for use in Canada and their contents.

A Look At Each Vaccine: Rabies Vaccine

Rabies vaccine is unique in that it is most often used after exposure to the disease. The only people who typically get vaccinated as a preventive measure are those who are at high risk for exposure, such as laboratory workers, veterinarians, animal handlers, spelunkers , and travelers going to parts of the world where exposure to rabies is likely. People getting vaccinated as a preventive measure should get three doses of vaccine. The second should be given seven days after the first dose, and the third dose should be administered 21 to 28 days after the first dose.

Once someone has been exposed, their dosing will vary depending upon their vaccination history:

• For those who have been exposed to rabies without previous vaccination, the vaccine is given shortly after exposure to prevent the progressive, invariably fatal disease, rabies. In these situations, a total of four shots are given in the shoulder muscle. The first shot is given immediately after exposure to a rabid animal, then again three days later, seven days later, and 14 days later. The person should also receive another shot called rabies immune globulin .
• For those who have been exposed to rabies, but who were previously vaccinated with rabies vaccine, two shots should be given in the shoulder muscle. The first shot should be given immediately after exposure. A second shot should be given three days later. These people do not need to get RIG.

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Do Indoor Cats Need A Rabies Vaccine Too

I have heard many pet parents say, But my cat is indoors only, when I bring up vaccinating their cat, particularly against rabies. It is very important that ALL cats be vaccinated against rabies, including cats that never go outdoors.

While you may keep your cat indoors, that doesnt mean that they cant ever escape or that wildlife cant ever find its way into your home.

Bats frequently sneak inside homescoming down chimneys or exploring attics. Bats are also known to trigger the hunting instinct in cats, which means your cat is more likely to chase and attempt to catch or play with a bat. Racoons are also known to make their way into your attic.

To ensure your cat is never at risk for rabies, the best decision you can make is to get them vaccinated against rabies.

What Is The Rabies Vaccine

The rabies vaccine is an injection given to help prevent infection from the virus that causes rabies. The rabies virus is spread to humans through the bite of an infected animal. Dogs, bats, skunks, coyotes, raccoons, and foxes are examples of animals that can carry rabies. The rabies vaccine can protect you from being infected with the virus. The vaccine can also prevent you from developing rabies even if you get it after you were bitten by an infected animal.

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How Can I Protect Myself Against Rabies

If you are travelling to an area where rabies is common, it is important to make sure you are up-to-date on your vaccinations. The best way to protect yourself from rabies is to avoid contact with animals, but if you must come into contact with them, make sure you wash any wounds thoroughly with soap and water and see a doctor as soon as possible.

Vaccinating your pets against rabies is also important, as they can be a source of infection for humans. If you think your pet has been exposed to rabies, contact your veterinarian immediately.

Rabies is a serious disease, but it is preventable with vaccination. Be sure to talk to your doctor or travel clinic about whether rabies vaccination is right for you.

Possible Side Effects Of The Rabies Vaccines

Like any medications, the rabies vaccine can have some minor and short lasting side effects.

Common side effects include:

• redness and swelling at the injection site
• headache
• feeling tired and lethargic.

Very rarely, you may experience a severe allergic reaction to the vaccine.

Many of the common side effects can be reduced by:

• drinking extra fluids
• not over dressing if you are already hot.

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Video Answer: Attacked By A Dog Getting A Rabies Shot Bali Day 2 Vlog

USDA testing and evaluation has shown the vaccine to be safe in over 50 different species of animals, including domestic dogs and cats. Eating a large number of baits may cause a temporarily upset stomach in your pet but does not pose a long-term health risk.

Vaccinating your pet not only protects him from getting rabies, it protects him if he bites someone.

Dogs who have bitten humans are required to be confined for at least 10 days to see if rabies develops, and if the animal’s vaccination records are not current, a lengthy quarantine or even euthanasia may be mandated.

Although not required by law, livestock , domestic ferrets, and wolf-dog hybrids should also be vaccinated against rabies.

As with cats and dogs, the frequency of vaccination boosters depends on whether a 1-year or 3-year vaccine is administered.

What Is Rabies And Its Common Symptoms

Rabies is a deadly disease that is caused by a virus, and can be 100% fatal if left untreated. The virus attacks the nervous system, and symptoms can include fever, headache, muscle weakness, paralysis, vomiting, agitation, confusion, excessive salivation, difficulty swallowing, halluncinations, insomnia, and seizures. Rabies is most commonly transmitted through the bite of an infected animal, but it can also be transmitted through contact with saliva or other body fluids from an infected animal. Rabies is fatal if left untreated, so it is important to seek medical help immediately if you think you may have been exposed to the virus.

Rabies is a serious disease, but it is preventable with vaccination. Be sure to talk to your doctor or travel clinic about whether rabies vaccination is right for you.

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Rabies Vaccination Before You Travel

A full ‘primary’ course of rabies vaccines consists of three doses given over 3 to 4 weeks.

• A more rapid schedule of vaccination may be possible if you are due to travel before you can complete the course, you can discuss this option with your travel health practitioner.

If you complete a full ‘primary course’ of rabies vaccines before you travel you will develop antibodies in your blood against the rabies virus. These will help protect you if you have a rabies exposure, but you must still seek medical attention after a rabies exposure and do immediate wound care.

• After a rabies exposure you only need 2 extra doses of rabies vaccine given over 3 days:
• These are booster doses to ensure your antibody levels are high enough to combat the rabies virus.

You should consider a course of rabies vaccinations before you travel if you:

• will be living in, or travelling to, a country where rabies is considered a risk
• are planning on undertaking activities such as trekking, cycling or running in a ‘high risk’ country, as these increase your risk of being attacked or bitten by an animal
• will be working or living in remote or rural areas with no easy access to medical facilities
• will be working with, or regularly handling animals or bats, as part of your job or activities
• those animals who have been vaccinated will develop antibodies in their blood against rabies virus.

Critical Steps After Rabies Exposure

In addition to receiving a pre-travel vaccination, there are several critical steps that must be taken after any potential exposure to the rabies virus.

1) Cleanse the wound with soap and water as quickly as possible for 15-20 minutes. This may help to prevent infection, however post-exposure treatment is still needed.

2) Apply iodine or alcohol to the wound if it is available. Do not bind the wound tightly, only cover it lightly with medical gauze or leave it exposed to air.

3) Seek medical attention as quickly as possible as it is essential to begin post-exposure treatment promptly.

Do not wait to find out if the animal has rabies before seeking treatment, as this can take days. Also, do not wait until you return home. Seek medical attention while you are abroad from a medical provider or clinic with experience in treating rabies. If you are overseas your insurance provider may be able to help with accessing medical care.

Treatment includes delivery of a post-exposure vaccination and treatment with the blood product Human Rabies Immune Globulin . This product can be very difficult to find, so patients may need to be flown to somewhere where it is available.

Prompt treatment ensures that HRIG can be injected at the wound site if needed, which provides a quick source of protective antibodies to control the spread of the virus, giving the vaccine more time to generate protective antibodies.

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