TREATMENT FOR RABIES

       

RABIES
INTRODUCTION:
Rabies (Latin, rabies, “madness, rage, fury”) is a viral zoonotic disease that causes acute encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) in mammals. In non-vaccinated humans, rabies is almost invariably fatal after neurological symptoms have developed, but prompt post-exposure vaccination may prevent the virus from progressing.
Rabies is a deadly disease caused by a virus that can infect humans, pets, livestock and wildlife. Preventing the disease in animals provides the best means of protection to humans.
Rabies is a serious illness caused by a virus that infects the nervous system. Rabies produces a characteristic rapidly progressive disease of the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord nerves). Rabies is generally fatal if untreated.
Early warning signs of rabies include anxiety, difficulty swallowing, convulsions, and, in some patients, paralysis.
DEFINITION:
Rabies is a rare but serious disease caused by a virus. The virus that causes rabies is carried in saliva. It is transmitted when an infected animal bites another animal. Rabies affects humans and other mammals.
Another name for rabies is hydrophobia (pronounced HI-dro-fo-bee-uh). Hydrophobia means “fear of water.”
SYMPTOMS OF RABIES:
The symptoms of Rabies include,
* Low-grade fever (102 degrees F or lower)
* Pain at the site of the bite
* Exaggerated sensation at the bite site
* Swallowing difficulty (drinking produces spasms of the larynx) or swallowing difficulty with liquids only
* Restlessness
* Excitability
* Muscle spasms
* Convulsions
* Numbness and tingling
* Loss of muscle function
* Loss of feeling in an area of the body
* Drooling
* Anxiety, stress, and tension
* Positive Babinski’s reflex.
CAUSES OF RABIES:
Rabies is caused by a virus. Usually transmitted to humans through the bite from an infected animal (rabid dogs) and less frequently by cats.
MEDICAL TREATMENT FOR RABIES:
* Treatment to prevent rabies has 3 essential components if a high probability of viral transmission exists. Depending on the likelihood the animal has rabies and, in some cases, the availability of the animal for observation, your doctor may not initiate the latter 2 steps involving shots against the rabies virus.
* Wound care involving soap and a virus-killing cleanser (this should always be done)
* A one-time injection of human rabies immune globulin (or HRIG), which is a substance that provides rapid, short-term protection against rabies
* Injection of the first of a series of vaccine doses to provide protection against rabies after an exposure.
* As soon as a bite has been sustained, immediate first aid is vital.
* The likelihood of infection is determined by the extent of rabies in the area, the species of the attacking animal and whether the attack was unprovoked.
* The closer a bite is to the face, the greater the risk, since the virus has a shorter distance to travel to the brain.
* Preventive treatment after exposure to infection is the only way to stop the fatal disease developing. Treatment is both by giving specific immunoglobulin (passive immunisation) and by administration of a normal vaccination (active immunisation).
* The disease usually takes long enough to develop in humans to allow the body’s immune response to be stimulated by the vaccination, before the symptoms of rabies manifest themselves.
VACCINE FOR RABIES:
* Five doses of rabies vaccine are given by injection over a 28-day period. The vaccine helps your immune system to make antibodies against the rabies virus.
* Adults and older children get the injection in the muscle of the upper arm; infants and children less than 18 months of age get the injection in the thigh muscle.
* Side effects may include fever, headache, nausea, muscle aches and dizziness. There may be tenderness and swelling where the needle was given.
PREVENTION FOR RABIES:
Prevention of rabies depends on decreasing the disease in the animal kingdom. Avoid contact with wild animals and strays. Have your pets vaccinated against rabies. Keep pets under control and away from wild animals and strays.
SELF-CARE AT HOME:
When bitten by an animal, you should always care for the wound immediately by washing it out with soap, water, and some sort of commercial antiseptic iodine solution, if available. This will help kill the common bacterial germs that may be passed by the bite but also has been shown to decrease the likelihood of transmission of the rabies virus, should the animal be rabid.

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