What is rabies?
Rabies is an infectious disease caused by a virus belonging to the Rhabdoviridae family. Present throughout the world, except Antarctica and the United Kingdom, where she has been eradicated by setting high safety and control measures.
Rabies has been known for centuries but it was not until 1880 that Louis Pasteur identified the virus as the cause of the disease.
Who is affected and how is it transmitted?
Although dogs are the main affected and transmitters of the disease, anger hurts both wild animals as pets. Can get from wolves, foxes, badgers and squirrels to cats, goats and cows. Bats can be carriers of the virus but no symptoms of the disease.
Unfortunately, this is not exclusively a disease of animals, humans also run the risk of infection.
rabies virus lodges in the infected animal's saliva and a simple bite serve to transmit the virus.
Due to the awareness that exists about the severity of the disease, most pets are vaccinated and therefore rabies virus is no problem for them or for other animals.
Most troubling are the stray dogs, wild animals and bats. Bats can be carriers of the virus (but not show symptoms) and biting an animal or person without it being noticed.
What are the symptoms?
Once the virus enters the body expands to the central nervous system, having a highly variable incubation period (15 to 60 days). After this stage, the animal begins to present the first symptoms.
These symptoms are extremely varied because of the multiplicity of locations virus in the nervous system. This disease is manifested by nervous disorders which may be associated or not mental disorders.
The first symptoms of an infected dog are:
• Conduct apprehensive.
• Nervousness.
• Anxiety.
• Voluntary isolation of the dog.
• Fever.
• The behavior may change, friendly dogs act in a suspicious, scary or irritable and aggressive dogs can become docile and friendly.
After two or three days, the symptoms become worse and depending on the effect of the virus in the brain, our animal may develop a type of rabies or other:
Rabia
furious: not always show, but when it does is characterized by irritability of the animal and by hypersensitivity to visual and auditory stimuli. The dog is restless and is active most of the time. The animal bite everything that is put in between and with the progress of the disease, are confused, uncoordinated and get to have seizures. Between one and seven days, progressive paralysis leading to death.
dumb or paralytic rabies: This also occurs in all cases. May occur after the first symptoms or after the furious rage. The main symptom is paralysis of the muscles of the head and neck. Thus, the dog can not swallow and spit constantly. The lower jaw is paralyzed, leaving the mouth open. This paralysis may affect the diaphragm and cause the dog to death from respiratory failure.
Although it is clear that a dog has rabies, we can only verify after the death of the animal through a series of laboratory tests. Prevention and treatment
There is no treatment to cure a mad dog. In case of infection, the animal is condemned to death. The only effective way to combat rabies is to vaccinate our dog regularly. For
be treated on time (just when the bite), you can try aggressive antiviral therapy. Otherwise, there is still no specific antiviral treatment once symptoms develop the virus.
what to do in case of human bite?
• Clean the wound with soap and water.
• Disinfect with quaternary ammonium.
• Visit your doctor as soon as possible.
• Put the dog biting under veterinary care for 15 days.
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