Animal Bites and Rabies

What you Should Know about Rabies Treatment

Rabies kills if it is not prevented. Once signs of the disease appear in an animal or a human, they usually die within 10 days. But you can get anti-rabies shots to fight off the disease. Rabies shots need to be given as soon as possible after a bite has occurred, before symptoms appear. The vaccination consists of a series of six shots given over 30 days.

One shot is given around the area of the bite. The rest are given in the arm. Sometimes an additional shot is required the first day if they are unable to give it all around the site of the bite. The rabies shots produce an immune response, which helps the body fight off the virus. The shot makes the body produce antibodies that then kill the virus.

Immune response:

The body has a natural defense system called the immune system. This defense system fights against invading germs like viruses. The immune system reacts to an invasion of a virus in several ways. One way is to get the white cells to make antibody against the virus. These antibodies attack the virus and make it harder for the virus to enter a cell.

Sometimes the body needs help to be able to fight off a disease. A vaccination, like the one against rabies, can help. The vaccination makes the body produce antibodies and other defenses to fight off the disease. Children get vaccinations for other diseases like measles, mumps, and rubella.

You can keep your pets from getting rabies by vaccinating them. Some humans, such as veterinarians and people who work with the rabies virus, receive the shots to protect them against the disease. Most people, though, get the shot only if they have been bitten by an animal that might have rabies.