World Rabies Day

World Rabies Day, observed annually on September 28 since 2007, commemorates the death of French microbiologist Louis Pasteur, who developed the first vaccine against rabies.

The purpose of World Rabies Day is to raise awareness and inform the public about rabies prevention and control.

Rabies is a particularly dangerous, fatal infectious disease caused by the rabies virus. Rabies is a preventable viral disease. Rabies is a viral zoonosis to which all warm-blooded animals are susceptible, primarily carnivores (canids, felids, mustelids, procyonids, etc.). Rodents and bats can also contract the disease. Domestic animals can become infected by rabid wild animals, most often due to lack of vaccination and improper containment (e.g., free-roaming).

Livestock (cattle, horses, and other herbivores) are also at risk of rabies infection if their enclosures and breeding areas lack conditions that prevent access by wild and stray animals (e.g., absence or damage to fencing, grazing in unfenced areas near forests, etc.).

Therefore, rabies is a viral infection transmitted from animal to animal and from animal to human through close contact with saliva, such as bites, scratches, or saliva contact with broken skin or mucous membranes.

The most dangerous localizations of animal-inflicted injuries for humans are the head, face, neck, fingers and toes, hands, feet, and genitals.

The incubation period (the latent period from the moment of infection to the appearance of symptoms) for rabies in humans is usually from 10 days to 2 months, with cases known to be as short as 5 days and as long as 1 year or more.

The first symptoms of the disease may manifest locally at the site of the injury as muscle twitching, itching, or pain along the nerves. Early in the disease, causeless anxiety, fear, increased sensitivity to light and sound stimuli, and a subfebrile temperature (37.1-38.0℃) are noted. Later, episodes of hydrophobia may develop: painful spasms of the pharyngeal and laryngeal muscles when attempting to drink fluids or upon hearing the sound of running water. The disease progresses daily, and paralysis develops. Death occurs from respiratory and cardiovascular arrest.

How to prevent RABIES:

  1. avoid contact with wild and stray animals;
  2. observe the established rules for keeping domestic animals (dogs, cats) and annually, without fail, present your pets to a veterinary institution for preventive vaccinations against rabies;
  3. in case of changes in the behavior of a domestic animal, if it sustains injuries from another animal, or dies for no apparent reason, it is mandatory to consult a veterinary specialist to establish observation or determine the cause of the animal's death;
  4. children often suffer from animal bites, therefore, it is necessary to constantly conduct educational work with them on rabies prevention;
  5. if wild animals appear on private plots in rural areas or within populated areas, take all personal precautions and ensure the safety of loved ones, as healthy wild animals usually avoid contact with humans.
  6. the most effective means of rabies prevention is immunization. Medical professionals have sufficiently effective medicinal products (antirabies vaccine and antirabies immunoglobulin) in their arsenal.

If contact with an animal, even one that appears healthy, could not be avoided, it is necessary to perform initial wound treatment independently as soon as possible – thoroughly wash the wound surface for at least 15 minutes under running water with soap, treat the wound edges with a 5% iodine tincture or any alcohol-based antiseptic, and immediately seek medical attention from a surgeon or traumatologist. It is very important, simultaneously with seeking medical attention and starting prophylactic anti-rabies immunization, to take measures regarding the animal (if possible) – it must be isolated, and veterinary services should be contacted for an examination of the animal and to organize observation, which lasts for 10 days from the moment of contact (the period of infectivity in animals occurs 3-10 days before the onset of clinical signs and lasts throughout the entire period of illness).

The vaccination course, taking into account the results of veterinary observation of the animal, may be shortened by the doctor's decision if the animal remains healthy at the end of the observation period.

For the 9 months of 2024, 8 cases of human bites by domestic and stray animals (dogs, cats) were registered in the Rossony district. No cases of rabies among animals have been registered during the current period.

Your health is in your hands. Take care of yourself and your loved ones!

State Institution "Rossony Regional Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology", 2024.