cait: the best way to explain to people why they need to vaccinate their pet for rabies is that if their pet bites or scratches someone and they can't prove it is up to date on rabies, they will test the animal for it by chopping off its head and testing its brain. there is no other way to test for it.

the best way to explain to people why they need to vaccinate their pet for rabies is that if their pet bites or scratches someone and they can't prove it is up to date on rabies, they will test the animal for it by chopping off its head and testing its brain. there is no other way to test for it.

If these motherfuckers are so ignorant as to make it necessary that the REST of us have to get routine rabies vaccines I'm going to shiv someone

Some pet owners are advocating against rabies vaccines. Here's why rabies is dangerous.www.usatoday.com Hesitancy around vaccines has spilled over to pet owners, sparking concern about the resurgence of rabies, a virus that's nearly always fatal.

i worked at an absolutely terrible vet clinic for like six months and that was one of the things i learned

everything about rabies is so terrifying

just a simple shot prevents two kinds of terrible deaths!

Your work history is proof that you are made of stronger stuff than I am, good lord

my work history is the most random shit you've ever seen

can't wait for the anti-rabies people to complain that the death of their pet is worse than the experience of someone who needs to know if they're going to live or die within a few weeks

I've seen it happen. Big local controversy where I lived a few years back after a stray dog bit an animal control officer and was euthanized this way

this happening to a stray dog is tragic, because the dog can't choose to be vaccinated, and I appreciate you sharing this with me I wish we had more resources available for these sorts of situations, I feel like TNR is the closest we ever get

TNR is only for cats, and there just aren't a lot of good options for a dog with a bite history and no vaccination records. Emotions run really high on this stuff but it's complicated and ultimately safety has to come first

Oh! I totally agree with you on that last front, that's why I'm so mad. I know that it's only for cats but I really wish there was a similar option for stray dogs at least for rabies. To be perfectly candid, I feel like we should try to eliminate rabies like we tried with polio.

The problem with trying to eliminate rabies vs polio is that humans are the only reservoir for polio but any mammal can get rabies

It is absolutely desirable that destroying unvaxxed animals becomes routine.

why can't we just vaccinate them

Out of curiosity I looked it up, and in all of human history, 14 people are known to have survived rabies after the onset of symptoms. This is from a disease that kills almost 60,000 people every year and infects probably an order of magnitude more. That might as well be a 100% fatality rate.

Oh and among those survivors, almost all ended up with permanent brain damage.

I am very happy to be vaccinated.

also why it's so so important to suck it up & get the post-exposure shots if you have even the slightest doubt about having been bitten by an unvaxxed animal. even waking up w a bat in your room w no evidence of a bite is cause for treatment. the shots suck but once you show symptoms it's too late

Exactly! The number of survivors is so low as to be statistical noise. And as I understand it, they basically have permanent problems from having been infected; it does severe damage to the CNS.

One of the only treatments involves putting the patient in a coma which can cause permanent lock-in syndrome, which many people think of as a fate worse than death, so yeah, it's a nasty one!

... and for one of the most hideous deaths known to Man.

This is making me remember when our dog got scratched by a gopher and some of the dog’s blood got on my hand while cleaning her off, and even that meant I needed to get shots in the ass for a month. Not something to play around with

Absolutely the case. "There is no live animal test for rabies. The animal’s brain, specifically the entire section of the cerebellum, hippocampus, and brainstem are required to perform the DFA test"

Rabies Testing Animal Bites and Rabies Risk: A Guide for Health Professionals - MN Dept. of HealthMinnesota Department of HealthMinnesota Department of healthprintsearchsharefacebookinstagramlinkedin...www.health.state.mn.us

“Dog autism isn’t a recognized condition, the AVMA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told USA TODAY.” If I had to include that statement in an article, I might never recover from the face plant into my keyboard.🫠

oh. well. that will do it.

Do they still do this in places? Around here, they'll vaccinate the human for rabies and quarantine the pet, but I think the quarantine is some kind of godawfully long period, and nobody should want to put their pet through that. It's expensive af for the pet owner, at the very least.

And the human vaccine is not cheap and not without risk, so any glitch in coverage or incidence of side effects for the person who was bitten could be even more expensive for the pet owner. This on top of any liability for just the biting.

Human rabies vaccine is not something that gets kept in stock at the local clinic or hospital. It has to be brought in for someone who needs it.

Important note: what you get if you've been potentially exposed to rabies isn't just the vaccine, it's Rabies Postexposure Prophylaxis (PEP) which also includes a shot of rabies immunoglobulin. The immunoglobulin is the part they don't generally keep on hand.

Yes, and you can be given later. I think up to 7 days is current guidelines?

But for rabies PEP in general, including the vaccine part, there are lots of places where you can't be given it unless your provider interfaces with the county health authority or something.

You have to get the immunoglobulin part of rabies PEP as soon as possible, ideally on day 0 or 1! The thing is, it has to be gotten from human donors, which is why they can't just keep a supply. The vaccine is a series (either pre- or post-exposure).

as a dog groomer, ive had to get te rabies vaccine after an unexpected bite from a dog who isnt a client—lots of hospitals *do* have a rabies vaccine. maybe it was different in texas, but two hospitals within a 10 mile radius of my salon had it.

Yes.

I don't know whether you were just trying to give random extra information or if this was some attempt to tell me I'm incorrect, but just to answer on the info part only:

Everywhere I have lived in the US, you have to get post exposure prophylaxis through county health services, and, last I looked, it is recommended it be given within 72 hours after exposure.

No, I just thought it was interesting. The healthcare system is built this way because it's just assumed that people will keep animals vaccinated.

In NYC, if the pet is healthy, they hold it for 10 days and observe. www.nyc.gov/assets/doh/d...

I would have thought that describing the effects of rabies, which is absolute horror movie shit, would be a good enough motivator, but we live in a world!

They should all have to watch "Old Yeller".

When I was little, living in exotic climes, the local police simply shot unleashed dogs on sight - so great was the fear of rabies.

Things haven't changed though it's less fear of rabies now www.abajournal.com/web/article/...

I was bitten by a rabid cat about 20 years ago. It was a previously friendly and healthy kitty that bit my thumb when i reached out to pet it one morning. It tested positive for rabies. 0/10. Do not recommend.

as a dog groomer and a vet groomer, i always tell people this because im sorry my safety comes first and if you love your animal you need to vaccinate it

My psych professor had a story about a squirrel he befriended when he was a grad student living in the U.S. One day, the squirrel happened to bite him and he was concerned he needed a rabies shot, but when he called they asked if he still had the squirrel. He then told them that they needed the- 1/2