Dr. Vinay Dange Ramesh
Community Medicine
The following is an actual conversation between an iCliniq user and a doctor that has been reviewed and published as a Premium Q&A.
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Patient's Query
Hi doctor,
I would like to know if a man is considered safe if he receives a vaccination for rabies after eight months of a dog bite and completes all doses. Also, if the virus has already entered the spinal cord and was on its way to the brain (but did not make it), will the vaccine still kill the virus?
Hello,
Welcome to icliniq.com.
I understand your concern.
If your dog is still alive and healthy eight months after the scratch, there is no need for therapy. The dog would have perished by now if it had been infected with rabies (a deadly virus spread to people from the saliva of infected animals). As a result, you do not require rabies immunization. The rabies virus enters the body by a nerve and goes to the spinal cord, then to the brain, where it multiplies. It then passes through additional nerves to the salivary glands and into the saliva. Rabies is usually fatal once the virus reaches the spinal cord and brain.
Patient's Query
Hi doctor,
Thank you for the reply.
I am worried since it is currently impossible to determine if the dog is still alive or not. We are concerned now since we read about the long incubation period of rabies on the internet, which is more than ten years. Will someone still be considered immune from rabies if they receive their vaccination before the symptoms, but the virus has already entered the spinal cord and is on its way to the brain?
Hello,
Welcome back to icliniq.com.
I understand your concern.
Immunization can function well before symptoms appear if vaccination is given as soon as possible after exposure. Once symptoms develop, the rabies vaccination is no longer effective in preventing rabies.
Patient's Query
Hi doctor,
Thank you for the reply.
Does this mean he can be considered safe after receiving rabies vaccine doses when symptoms have not yet emerged? Is it true that rabies can incubate for up to 10 years? From one of your previous statements, I got an impression that if the dog were affected by rabies, my friend's existence would be questionable. Can you please brief this again?
Hello,
Welcome back to icliniq.com.
I understand your concern.
Please revisit that respective response. The death I specified is about the dog. I am aware that rabies has a prolonged incubation period. However, he would be less likely to develop rabies now if he had not yet shown any symptoms. And if he had received all doses of rabies vaccine.
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Community Medicine
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