Rabies
See also:
Rabies - The Big Scam
http://www.dogs4dogs.com/blog/2008/06/18/20/
Rabies is a viral disease which can affect dogs, although canine rabies has been practically eliminated in North America and Europe due to extensive and often mandatory vaccination. It is still a significant problem in Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia. Areas that are rabies-free, such as Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and Hawaii, have strict quarantine laws to keep rabies out.
In some places, mandatory vaccination laws require that dogs be vaccinated every year, or every three years, against rabies. Science shows that this is unlikely to be necessary, and a trial is currently taking place in an attempt to reduce the vaccine load on dogs, since all vaccines come with the risk of causing a myriad of life-threatening side-effects.
The Rabies Challenge Fund Charitable Trust, independent of vaccine manufacturers who obviously want to sell more vaccines, will determine the duration of immunity conveyed by rabies vaccines. The goal is to extend the required interval for rabies boosters to 5 and then to 7 years. See: http://www.rabieschallengefund.org/
Symptoms
If you live in a country with rabies, and you think your dog has been bitten by a wild animal or a dog, these are the initial symptoms you should look out for: change of tone in his bark, chewing at the bite site, fever, loss of appetite, subtle changes in behaviour. This period lasts for two or three days, but can take between one and three months to develop after your dog is bitten.
The second phase of infection usually lasts between two and four days. Some dogs experience ‘mad dog syndrome’, but not all. This involves viciously attacking any moving object, person or animal. They may crave to eat anything, including inedible objects. They may constantly growl and bark. Their pupils may be dilated. They may be aggressive and appear disorientated. They may seem anxious and hyper-alert. They may show no fear, be restless, and have seizures.
The third phase is known as the paralytic phase. The dog may appear to be choking; his lower jaw may droop; he may be unable to swallow, leading to drooling and foaming at the mouth; and his jaw and throat may become paralysed. Paralysis then spreads to other parts of the body and the dog will enter a coma and die.
Difficult diagnosis
Though the behavioural symptoms of rabies are classic, a diagnosis based solely on the symptoms can be difficult because they are similar to other diseases, conditions, and complications. Many factors can trigger aggressive, strange behaviour and many animals are easily provoked when injured.
The only way to be 100% sure that an animal has rabies is to perform a direct fluorescent antibody test (dFA) on the brain, which means that the animal must be killed.
Back to:
Vaccination
Ill-Health & Disease
A to Z
See also:
Rabies - The Big Scam
http://www.dogs4dogs.com/blog/2008/06/18/20/
Rabies is a viral disease which can affect dogs, although canine rabies has been practically eliminated in North America and Europe due to extensive and often mandatory vaccination. It is still a significant problem in Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia. Areas that are rabies-free, such as Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and Hawaii, have strict quarantine laws to keep rabies out.
In some places, mandatory vaccination laws require that dogs be vaccinated every year, or every three years, against rabies. Science shows that this is unlikely to be necessary, and a trial is currently taking place in an attempt to reduce the vaccine load on dogs, since all vaccines come with the risk of causing a myriad of life-threatening side-effects.
The Rabies Challenge Fund Charitable Trust, independent of vaccine manufacturers who obviously want to sell more vaccines, will determine the duration of immunity conveyed by rabies vaccines. The goal is to extend the required interval for rabies boosters to 5 and then to 7 years. See: http://www.rabieschallengefund.org/
Symptoms
If you live in a country with rabies, and you think your dog has been bitten by a wild animal or a dog, these are the initial symptoms you should look out for: change of tone in his bark, chewing at the bite site, fever, loss of appetite, subtle changes in behaviour. This period lasts for two or three days, but can take between one and three months to develop after your dog is bitten.
The second phase of infection usually lasts between two and four days. Some dogs experience ‘mad dog syndrome’, but not all. This involves viciously attacking any moving object, person or animal. They may crave to eat anything, including inedible objects. They may constantly growl and bark. Their pupils may be dilated. They may be aggressive and appear disorientated. They may seem anxious and hyper-alert. They may show no fear, be restless, and have seizures.
The third phase is known as the paralytic phase. The dog may appear to be choking; his lower jaw may droop; he may be unable to swallow, leading to drooling and foaming at the mouth; and his jaw and throat may become paralysed. Paralysis then spreads to other parts of the body and the dog will enter a coma and die.
Difficult diagnosis
Though the behavioural symptoms of rabies are classic, a diagnosis based solely on the symptoms can be difficult because they are similar to other diseases, conditions, and complications. Many factors can trigger aggressive, strange behaviour and many animals are easily provoked when injured.
The only way to be 100% sure that an animal has rabies is to perform a direct fluorescent antibody test (dFA) on the brain, which means that the animal must be killed.
Back to:
Vaccination
Ill-Health & Disease
A to Z