Thinking about to having a pet?
Having a pet such as dogs and cats are surely an exciting experience. But do you know that they are mammals which can be infected by rabies?
Rabies is a deadly virus which attacks the nervous system and cause a brain inflammation.
It has spread in many places around the world, including in Indonesia.
Every year, rabies causes the deaths of more than 50,000 people and millions of animals worldwide. Although survival is possible, the virus almost always kills its host. And there are not many educations about this disease amongst the society.
Humans can also be infected from the bite of animals which has been infected with rabies.
So, knowing the warning signs of rabies can help prevent infection to other animals and people. Rabies can be prevented by correct treatment.
However, the first thing you should know is the sign and the symptoms in dogs that have been infected rabies.
Animals that are infected rabies may appear sick, crazy, or become more violent.
Be aware that dogs are infected rabies can also look too friendly, or sometimes confused. They may look like normal, or not normal. This condition is usually excreted with fever. As the virus develops, dogs that grow can become sensitive to touch, light, and sound.
Dogs may eat things that are not usually eaten and like to hide in dark places. The throat and jaw muscles is paralysed, and there is a foam in the mouth of the dog. In addition, there is a loss of appetite, weakness, seizures, and sudden death.
On the other hand, the incubation period (time of developing infection) of the rabies virus in humans is around 30 to 60 days. Therefore, you may experience symptoms shortly after you have been bitten or scratched.
The common symptoms such as high fever, excretion, and muscle aches may appear immediately. The signs that appear may look like the same as flu. Gradually, the virus will spread causing feelings of anxiety, confusion, paralysis, difficulty in swallowing, and eventually the body will experience convulsions, followed by a coma stage, and finally death.
Therefore, prevention to our pet and most importantly ourselves is a must. Bring your pet routinely to a veterinarian to get a vaccination, or have a consultation if they seem to have a rabies symptoms. Dogs who are not vaccinated or allowed outdoors without supervision have a higher risk of contracting rabies from an infected animal. Likewise, if you have been bitten by a wild animal or dog that you don’t know, especially kinds of wild mammals like monkeys, bats, and cats, see a doctor immediately before symptoms get worse.
Here are some tips for you guys as a traveller who like to visit many countries around the globe.
We call it pre-exposure,
A best way to prevent before you get bitten by rabies-infected animals. Be sure to have a rabies vaccination before you travel.
If you don’t find any rabies vaccine in your country, such as United Kingdom, which never experience rabies before, and your destination is tropical country like Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and many other tropical country, rabies vaccine is easy to find.
If you find a blood in your wound, then it might be a serious one. So, you need a vaccine and immuno-globulin, an active serum to fight the virus.
In the end, for you guys who often see many “wild” dogs and cats in the streets around Bali, you might be careful and pay attention.
Also, when you visit some places where there are monkeys, be sure to stay alert. Some dogs you find in the streets have a red ribbon on their neck, it means they already got a rabies vaccination.
But again, stay safe if you don’t want anything happen to you.
