RABIES : WHAT CAN TRAVELERS DO TO PREVENT RABIES.

 

RABIES : WHAT CAN TRAVELERS DO TO PREVENT RABIES. 

 For some travelers, it may make sense to get the rabies vaccine before your trip.The rabies vaccine is three doses. The second dose is given seven days after the first dose. The third shot is given 21 to 28 days after the first dose. 

Even if you are vaccinated against rabies, if you are bitten or scratched by an animal while traveling, you need to seek medical care immediately and get two booster doses of the vaccine. 

 Travelers can protect themselves from rabies by taking the following steps:

 1)Don’t touch dogs, puppies, or other animals. This goes for strays as well as pets. Not all countries

 require pets to be vaccinated against rabies. Even animals that appear healthy can spread rabies.

 2)Supervise children closely, especially around dogs and puppies, cats and kittens, and wildlife.

 3)If you travel with your pet, watch it closely. Do not allow it around other local pets or wild animals.

 4)Avoid bringing new animals home. Dogs and cats may be infected with rabies but not show signs

 until several days or months later. If you do decide to bring an animal with you be aware animal importation regulations. 

 5)If you are traveling to work with animals, bring and wear appropriate protective gear.

 Act quickly if you are bitten or scratched by a dog or other animal :

1)Immediately wash all bites and scratches well. Use plenty of soap and running water. 

 2)Seek medical care immediately, even if you don’t feel sick or the wound does not look serious.

 3)To prevent rabies, start treatment immediately. 

 4)Treatment for rabies includes getting a vaccine after you have been bitten. 

Even if you were vaccinated before your trip, you still need to seek care if you get bitten or scratched by an animal.

I was bitten by a feral dog while overseas. My search for rabies shots was a terrifying ordeal.

 

I was bitten by a feral dog while overseas. My search for rabies shots was a terrifying ordeal. Sharing this story, though quite lengthy but very informative. 

The take aways from the story: 1) Do not make assumptions about bites. 2) wash bite site with soap and water ,clean area with antiseptic solution then seek medical attention immediately. 

 I’d seen the gaunt canine milling around, but feral dogs seemed to congregate on every corner in India, so one more roaming the grounds of Amritsar’s Partition Museum didn’t garner any special attention. By the time I realized the dog was about to bite me, it was too late. 

 At least not until it sunk its incisors into my knee, leaving two bloody puncture marks. It could have been worse, but in a country where rabies kills thousands of people each year, it could have been so much better. 

 According to the World Health Organization, 36 percent of all rabies deaths occur in India. And while any mammal can transmit the rabies virus, 99 percent of all human cases result from contact with an infected dog. And travelers are not immune. 

In 2018, a British man died after contracting rabies after being bitten by an asymptomatic cat in Morocco. This year, a 24-year-old Norwegian woman died after attempting to rescue a puppy in the Philippines that bit her. In 2017, a Virginia woman succumbed to rabies after a dog bite in India. She rescued a puppy during her vacation. 

The dog’s bite proved deadly. Instinctively, after being bitten, I slathered my knee in hand sanitizer as locals in the northwestern India city directed my partner and me to a small lean-to with a faded red cross painted on it.