Don't be subjective about your life when being scratched by dogs or cats.

Rabies virus has a similar structure to cobra venom

Last March, a 36-year-old male patient living in Tanh Linh district, Binh Thuan province died after being bitten on the left heel by a pet dog, causing bleeding but not being vaccinated. Previously, a 28-year-old male in Dong Tam commune, Lac Thuy district, Hoa Binh province was also bitten by a stray dog ​​but was not vaccinated, so he developed rabies and died 50 days later.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, in the first three months of this year, 20 people died from rabies in 13 provinces and 80 animals in 22 provinces and cities were forced to be destroyed due to suspected rabies.

Specialist Doctor I Le Thi Truc Phuong, Medical Specialist, VNVC Vaccination System said that hot months with higher than average temperatures make animals, especially dogs and cats, easily stressed and tend to go out to look for food and water. This increases the risk of rabies transmission between animals.

In addition, people who participate in outdoor activities tend to have more contact with animals. In particular, children playing in places where animals roam freely, increasing the risk of being attacked by animals and infected with rabies.

Specialist Doctor I Le Thi Truc Phuong said that a part of the rabies virus has a structure similar to cobra venom, secreting a strong poison, inhibiting brain nerve cells. At the same time, the virus activates a mechanism that affects the blood-brain barrier. This barrier, which is responsible for protecting and preventing dangerous substances from attacking the brain, is now inhibited and locked by the virus. This leads to the effort to use drugs to destroy the rabies virus being ineffective, causing the patient to die.

The rabies virus is very sensitive. When entering the human body, the rabies virus multiplies at the wound site, then enters the neuromuscular system. The pathogen continues along the peripheral nerves to reach the spinal cord and brain at an estimated speed of 12-24 mm per day.

During this process, the rabies virus causes almost no symptoms and does not stimulate a strong inflammatory response. Therefore, the immune system cannot recognize and destroy it in time.

Doctor Phuong said that the rabies virus causes two forms of the disease: aggressive rabies and paralytic rabies. About 80% of people with aggressive rabies have behaviors such as throat spasms, hyperactivity, hallucinations, fear of wind and fear of water. Patients die after a few days due to cardiac arrest and respiratory failure. Paralytic rabies progresses more slowly, with the patient's muscles gradually paralyzed starting at the site of the wound and spreading throughout the body, eventually leading to death.

The incubation period depends on the location, number of bites, condition of the animal, amount of virus entering the body. This process is shorter if the bite is deeper, more bites, bleeding, near the central nervous system such as the head, face, neck, fingertips, toes.

Don't be subjective with dog and cat scratches

Dr. Phuong said that the rabies virus enters the human body through bites, scratches, or licks on open wounds of animals. From here, the rabies virus develops from the innermost layer of subcutaneous tissue or from the muscles into the peripheral nerves.

The virus then travels along the peripheral nerves to the spinal cord and brain. In cases of bites to the face, the virus may travel directly to the brain stem instead of the spinal cord. The estimated migration rate of the rabies virus is 12-24 mm per day. This explains why wounds to the head or nerve endings, extremities, the virus will spread and reach the brain faster.

If the wound is far from the nerve ending, the virus still travels along the nerve and attacks the brain. This process can take many months, up to several years at most, the speed depends on the level of shallow or deep damage, the amount of virus entering the body...

Rabies vaccine has the ability to activate the immune system and create antibodies that recognize viruses and destroy them, protecting the body.

Doctor Phuong warns that many people, after a few weeks of being bitten by a dog, feel healthy and so they subjectively get vaccinated, do not monitor the animal or forget that they have been attacked by a dog or cat. But in reality, nearly 100% of people infected with rabies will die when the disease starts.

The doctor also pointed out the mistake that people make when they are bitten by a dog but see that the animal is healthy and has been vaccinated, so they think they do not have rabies. In fact, the animal may have been infected with the rabies virus but has not shown symptoms yet, the pathogen still enters the body through saliva and bites.

Therefore, even if the pet has not shown any symptoms of the disease, people still need to get vaccinated against rabies as soon as possible to create protective antibodies. If people wait until the dog or cat dies or develops the disease before getting vaccinated, they may miss the opportunity to prevent the disease.

According to Dr. Phuong, the rabies vaccine has the ability to activate the immune system and create antibodies that recognize viruses and destroy them, protecting the body.

Vietnam has two types of rabies vaccines: Verorab (France) and Abhayrab (India). The vaccination regimen includes 5 injections on days 0, 3, 7, 14, 28 by intramuscular injection and 8 injections on days 0, 3, 7, 18 by intradermal injection.

In case of severe wound and risk of tetanus exposure, the doctor may prescribe additional injection of rabies serum and vaccine, tetanus serum. During the injection process, everyone should monitor the animal for 10 days, the doctor may prescribe stopping the injection depending on the condition of the wound.

People who have not been scratched or bitten or are at high risk of exposure to rabies such as children who regularly play with cats and dogs, veterinarians, zoo staff, people working at pet care facilities, people traveling to areas where rabies is endemic but have difficulty accessing vaccines and anti-rabies serum... can be vaccinated for prevention. The regimen includes three doses of vaccine on days 0, 7, 21 or 28.

People who have received a full course of pre-exposure prophylaxis or have received a full dose of the vaccine after a previous bite only need two additional doses of vaccine and do not need to receive serum even if they have a severe wound from a scratch or bite.

In addition to vaccines, Dr. Phuong recommends that when bitten, scratched, or licked on an open wound by a dog or cat, the wound should be washed under running water for 15 minutes. Then, disinfect with 45-70 degree alcohol or iodine alcohol to reduce the amount of rabies virus at the bite, and get vaccinated against rabies as soon as possible. If soap is not available, people can use shampoos and shower gels instead and disinfect again with alcohol. Do not treat with traditional medicine and folk remedies, as this will delay the opportunity to prevent rabies.

Dr. Phuong said that the current rabies vaccine is produced using new technology, has high immunity and safety, is many times more effective than the old generation vaccine that has been discontinued, and especially has no side effects that affect memory. Current rabies prevention recommendations call for people to get vaccinated against rabies as soon as possible after being bitten by an animal, and to vaccinate their pets.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/dung-chu-quan-voi-tinh-mang-khi-bi-cho-meo-cao-post872386.html