It is no news that when a dog with a rabies infection bites a human; it turns into a very serious case in the human that requires urgent medical attention, but the animals affected also are victims of this dangerous virus.
Rabies is an infectious disease that affects the central nervous system of the affected man. It is often transmitted through their saliva just a few days before the animal dies, which means the animal dies after shedding the virus.
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Contrary to some opinions, rabies is not spread through the blood, feces, or urine of an infected animal; it isn't even spread through an open environment.
When an infected animal gets to its furious stage, especially when wild, they become agitated and begins to snap or bite at every object, either imaginary or real, and it also drools excessively during this period.
In the dumb form of the virus, wild animals may look as if they are tamed and have no fear of humans. Acting paralyzed, acting disoriented are signs that accompany the virus in this form
In an infected animal, rabies would travel from the brain straight to the salivary glands, but this happens most often during the final stage of the disease already as it is only at this point that animals are capable of spreading the disease and of course, most commonly through a bite.
If a skin does not have any form of opening, rabies cannot go through it, but we must bear in mind that not all cases of broken skin can be visible or noticeable; you may not be aware of some, so avoid overconfidence when approaching an infected animal.
The virus dries up easily when exposed to open air; it can I lay survive well in saliva, and it dries up once the saliva dries up too.
Always put on gloves while handling a suspected affected animal. In a case where your pet may have fought with a suspected rabid animal, wearing gloves to protect the skin from every form of saliva is necessary.
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We know dogs to be very good carriers of rabies, but dogs alone do not belong to this category as any warm-blooded mammal can contract rabies. Research says the primary carriers in North America are skunks, bats, foxes, raccoons, and coyotes.
Domesticated mammals with the most likelihood are cats, cows, horses, goats, and ferrets.
Despite how common we think awareness about rabies is, people still die as a result of the virus yearly and dogs are not even the most common cause of infection everywhere, in the United States for instance, research shows that most affected people were infected by a bat and this got me wondering if people keep bats as pets, or was it just a random approach and bite? I couldn't help but wonder.
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Anyways, research shows that some biting happened while the affected people were sleeping, and some may have been cases of people holding bats with their bare hands without realizing how they may have been potentially exposed to rabies through the process.
At the beginning of this post, I mentioned briefly the types of rabies we have but did not properly analyze them.
Let's begin with furious rabies, which is known for causing hyperactivity and hallucinations in the animal. They also have symptoms like hydrophobia which is the fear of water and even aerophobia on some occasions, which is the fear of fresh air.
Furious rabies leads to death most often after a few days, coming from cardiorespiratory arrest.
Paralytic rabies on the other hand causes paralysis and coma. It is said that this type of rabies is seen in about 20% of infected humans, and their diagnosis is usually wrong. Symptoms will include muscle paralysis that begins at the location of a bite or scratch. Those with paralytic rabies enter into a state of comatose gradually until they die eventually.
In humans, the symptoms of rabies do not show immediately, it could stay in the body for up to 3monthd, it is this stage that is known as the incubation phase. Symptoms will then begin to show once the virus has successfully traveled through the central nervous system and has hit the brain.
You can begin to tell there is a problem with the onset of fever, general tiredness, headaches, flu-like symptoms, diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, pain, sore throat, muscle pain, amongst others. There could also be pain felt or burning at the injury site. The symptoms may last as long as the virus spreads through the central nervous system.
Other severe symptoms come up afterward in the form of, seizures, being agitated easily, confusion, anxiety, insomnia, salivating more often, slight or partial paralysis, neck stiffness abnormal behavior, different-sized pupils, and stiffness of the neck.
After the incubation phase of the virus which does not come with symptoms, then the virus enters your nervous system, the virus moves through the nerve cells into your brain and spinal cord, damaging the nerves along the way.
While this is going on, your immune system will try to fight the virus, and that is what creates flu-like symptoms, this phase causes numbness, pain, or tingling feeling at the point of being scratched or bitten and it lasts for about 2-10 days.
After this stage, the rabies virus begins to damage the spinal cord and brain. Those with furious rabies will begin to show symptoms like aggression, delirium, and seizure at this point while those with paralytic rabies will experience weakness and paralysis that moves from the spot of bite to other parts of the body.
Prevention is the best foot forward, there is a vaccination for your pets to prevent them from rabies infection and for humans, once there is a bite or scratch, you can report to a hospital immediately where you will be given an antibody treatment near your wound if you have never been vaccinated before. This will prevent the infection from traveling to your brain if you have been exposed to the virus. A tetanus shot may also be required if you haven't gotten one in the last 10 years.
Before I round up on today's post, I saw some write-up somewhere and I would like to share with you, its simple rules for dealing with the prevention of rabid.
The first thing is never to touch a wild animal even if it appears dead, never pet a stray dog or cat, and finally, if you notice an animal acting strangely, ensure to call your animal control, also take caution with exposing your pets to strange animals. Get vaccinated if you stay in a region where rabies is more prevalent, it is better to get vaccinated on time.
References
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/rabies#about-rabies
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/rabies
https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/what-is-rabies
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/rabies/symptoms-causes/syc-20351821