Page 957 - Clinical Small Animal Internal Medicine

90 Rabies in Dogs and Cats 895

They should be given detailed information about rabies, cleaned to remove virus particles. The next steps
VetBooks.ir and be encouraged to budget for thorough veterinary depend on the pet’s rabies vaccination status.
examination as part of the processing of each animal.
– Pet’s rabies vaccination was current before inci-
Rescue groups that import animals should be educated
should be advised that there is a risk of the pet
about associated legal requirements (see later). dent. Revaccinate the pet immediately. The owner
becoming rabid. The postexposure quarantine and
observation period in this case is usually 30–45
Public Health Implications days, depending on the jurisdiction. The quarantine
may potentially be performed at the pet owner’s
home or may require a more secure setting, depend-
Veterinarians routinely face rabies‐related circumstances ing on the risk of rabies and local requirements.
in which they are called upon to protect not only their – Pet was not vaccinated at all before incident. Tell
patient but also people and other animals. National the owner that there is an elevated risk of the pet
guidelines on rabies control are routinely published becoming rabid, presenting risk to them and their
by the National Association of State Public Health family members. National guidelines call for the pet
Veterinarians (http://nasphv.org/documentsCompendia. to be euthanized to prevent it from becoming rabid.
html). Local animal control and public health agencies Alternatively, the pet may be immediately vacci-
usually play the most prominent role in rabies control. nated and then quarantined. In most states the
Contact your local agencies in advance for information quarantine period is 4–6 months. Texas requires
on rabies‐relating reporting, testing, and other protocols. only 90 days of quarantine, but also requires unvac-
Ask for the phone number to call in case of an emergency. cinated pets to be vaccinated three times while in
Place the information in an easy‐to‐find location and quarantine: the first week, then three and eight
review it with clinic staff. weeks afterward. This three‐vaccine postexposure
Four rabies‐related circumstances occur routinely in
small animal practice. “Texas Protocol” may provide some protection
against the development of rabies, and is sometimes
Dog or cat bit a person. Legally reportable. Rabid dogs recommended in other localities.
●
and cats can potentially shed rabies virus in their saliva – Pet overdue for rabies vaccine at time of incident.
for a few days before clinical signs of rabies begin. These cases are often managed similarly to unvac-
Quarantine and/or testing are typically required cinated pets with a rabies vaccination being given
regardless of the rabies vaccination status of the ani- immediately followed by a 4–6‐month quarantine
mal. The quarantine protocol may vary depending on period (see earlier). However, the risk of rabies
the severity of the bite and the requirements of the transmission is lower, especially if the pet has a life-
jurisdiction. If the dog or cat remains healthy for time history of multiple rabies vaccinations, and
10 days or longer, the risk of rabies for the bite victim some jurisdictions may allow for a shorter quaran-
is negligible. If the animal dies or is euthanized during tine of 45 days if there is proof of the earlier vaccina-
this 10‐day period, it should be tested for rabies. tion. If there is no proof of earlier vaccination,
The pet should not be vaccinated for rabies during this national guidelines suggest a procedure called pro-
10‐day quarantine. spective serologic monitoring to determine if the
Dog or cat vs wild mammal. Legally reportable in many animal was likely vaccinated in the past. It involves
●
areas. (Note that certain wild mammal species may be documenting a very rapid rise in rabies antibody
exempt – for example, in California, bites from wild titers following boostering, by measuring antibody
rabbits and small rodents are not reportable.) Bite levels in serum samples drawn just before the
wounds from the wild animal exposure may or may booster and again 5–7 days later. This procedure
not be obvious. Pets found unattended near a wild may or may not be accepted as proof of earlier vac-
mammal may have wounds hidden in the fur or mouth. cination, depending on the state and local law.
Bite wounds from bats are especially hard to see, even ● Dog or cat suspected of being rabid. Legally reportable.
on human skin. Pets with unexplained bite wounds Isolate the animal. Create a list of all people who may
may also have been exposed to a rabid animal. Ask the have been bitten or exposed to the saliva of the animal,
pet owner about the location of the biting wild mam- and refer them to physicians for consultation. After the
mal. If it is deceased, its body should be retrieved for animal dies or is euthanized, submit the head or brain
testing – a negative rabies test on the wild mam- to your local rabies control agency following its proto-
mal eliminates concerns about rabies. If the wild mam- cols. Inform all the exposed individuals of the rabies
mal is not available for testing, or tests positive for test result once available.
the virus, the pet is considered exposed to rabies. ● Pet imported from another country. Over the past dec-
Regardless, the bite wound should be thoroughly ade, the globalization of the puppy trade and animal