Rabies Vaccination: What Is My Responsibility?

Introduction

Vaccination goes far beyond protecting the individual. When you vaccinate, you help the entire community reduce the number of cases of a given disease.

This past week we were caught off guard by a human rabies case in Santa Catarina, in southern Brazil. After 38 years, the State Epidemiological Surveillance Directorate (DIVE-SC) confirmed rabies as the cause of death of a 58-year-old woman, a resident of a rural area, who had been bitten by a cat.

This case serves as a warning to the public and to health services, which must take a more rigorous and informative stance on the importance of vaccination and general preventive care.

Those who do not vaccinate put at risk not only their own health, but also that of their family members and everyone they come into contact with, while also helping diseases circulate more widely.

About rabies

Rabies is one of the oldest and most lethal infectious diseases in human history. It affects mammals such as dogs, cats, cattle, horses, monkeys and bats, as well as people.

It is transmitted to humans through the saliva of infected animals, especially via bites, but also through scratches and contact with secretions and excretions. The virus enters the body and multiplies at the point of inoculation, remaining there for some time. Once it reaches the peripheral nerves, it travels toward the central nervous system, reaches the brain, and from there spreads to various organs and the salivary glands, where it replicates and is shed.

The most common clinical signs of rabies include marked behavioral changes, aggression, photophobia, and reduced appetite and water intake. In the final stage, seizures and limb paralysis occur, which can lead to death.

Few cases have been reported in which treatment of infected patients was successful. According to DIVE-SC data, it is a disease with roughly 100% lethality. The response, therefore, must be prophylactic.

Even if initial data point to a disease that is under control in a given region or state, that control and the absence of cases must be maintained by vaccinating animals and, today, the people close to reported cases.

Vaccination is the only way to prevent the disease.

What to do if an animal bites you?

The wound should be washed immediately with soap and water. The nearest health service should be contacted urgently. The animal that caused the injury should be observed for ten days, fed and given water as usual, but kept in a secure place so it cannot escape or attack other people. If the animal shows behavioral changes, the health service should be contacted.

Every citizen's duty

Always contact the health service when an attack occurs; keep your animal under observation if it bites someone; vaccinate animals against rabies every year; never let your pet roam loose in the street; report stray animals in your neighborhood; report abnormal behavior in pets; and report the presence of bats of any species.