Rabies Awareness week begins in Virginia

Today marks the end of Rabies Awareness Week in Virginia. Rabies is an untreatable disease of the nervous system that leads to death. From 1990-2000 there were 32 human deaths from rabies in the United States. Nationally, each year 7,000-9,000 animals are detected with rabies, 500-600 in Virginia alone. The most common animals infected with rabies are raccoons, foxes, skunks, bats, cats, dogs, and some farm animals. In Virginia, the most common human exposure is through cats, followed closely by bats. 

People generally know when they have been bitten, but according to the Virginia Department of Heath, there are situations in which you should seek medical advice even in the absence of an obvious bite wound. If you awaken and find a bat in your room, see a bat in the room of an unattended child, or see a bat near a mentally impaired or intoxicated person, you should contact the local health department.

The VDH also strongly advises people to follow these guidelines to prevent families and pets from being exposed to rabies:

- Vaccinate all cats, dogs, ferrets, and selected livestock against rabies and keep them up to date.

- Avoid contact with wild animals or stray cats and dogs.

- Report stray animals to your local animal control agency.

- Eliminate outdoor food sources around the home.

- Keep pets confined to your property or walk them on a leash.

If your pet is attacked or bitten by a wild animal, promptly report it to your veterinarian and the local health department or animal control authorities. If your pet bites someone, the person should seek medical attention and the local health department should be contacted. Even if your pet is current on rabies vaccine, there are guidelines that should be followed. If the pet does not have a current rabies vaccine, there are much more serious ramifications.

If you have been bitten by an animal, immediately wash the wound thoroughly with soap and copious amounts of water. This step will significantly reduce your risk of infection. It is extremely important to promptly report the bite would to your doctor and the local health department. The VDH advises, “if possible, capture the animal under a large box or can, or at least identify it before it runs away. Don’t try to pick the animal up. If it’s a wild animal that must be killed, don’t damage the head. Call an animal control or law enforcement officer to come get it.”

Q: What is the difference between a one-year and a three-year rabies vaccine? Is one safer than the other?

A: In most cases the actual vaccine is the same. The deciding factor is mostly whether or not the pet has received a rabies vaccine in the past. If it has, then the immune system will mount a longer lasting response. The same dose of the same vaccine will last for three years instead of one.

To protect public health, there is also a legal component to the duration of a rabies vaccine. There must be proof of prior vaccination for a veterinarian to label a vaccine with a three-year interval.

Since the vaccine is usually identical, there is generally not a difference in safety between a one-year and a three-year vaccine. The possible exception is PureVax, a one-year rabies vaccine for cats that uses a live bird virus instead of chemical additives to stimulate an immune response.

Since rabies virus in vaccines is dead, the immune system would not normally mount a strong response to it. To give protective immunity, these dead vaccines require additives to stimulate the immune system. Some veterinarians believe the reduction in inflammation associated with the bird virus will result in lower risks than the chemical additive vaccines. Others worry that replacing a single injection with three shots in a three year period may negate any benefit of the lower inflammatory response.

Unfortunately, there is no conclusive scientific evidence to guide our decision at this time. At this time, I prefer a protocol that minimizes the number and frequency of injections. I recommend the purest available rabies vaccine labeled for a three-year booster interval.

Dr. Watts is a companion animal general practitioner and owner of Clevengers Corner Veterinary Care. He can be reached through ClevengersCorner.com or by calling 428-1000.