Emergency Guide: What to Do If Your Dog Has Rabies
Rabies in dogs is a direct contact zoonotic disease caused by the rabies virus, primarily affecting the central nervous system and known colloquially as "mad dog disease" or "hydrophobia." The symptoms include excitement, fear of water, spasms of the throat muscles, and progressive paralysis. Clinically, it manifests in two main types: the rabid type and the paralytic type.
The rabid type is divided into three stages: the prodromal stage, the excitation stage, and the paralysis stage. During the prodromal stage, dogs may appear listless, prefer darkness to light, be dull in response, and ignore their owners. They may also show unusual eating habits, such as chewing on foreign objects, difficulty swallowing, excessive salivation, weakness in the hindquarters, and dilated pupils. This stage typically lasts for 1 to 2 days.
Following the prodromal stage, the dog enters the excitation stage, characterized by restlessness, sudden stopping and barking, increased reflexes, and a heightened sensitivity to external stimuli like sounds, bright lights, or touch. Dogs may become aggressive towards humans and other animals. The excitation stage lasts about 2 to 4 days, after which the dog may develop epilepsy and exhibit alternating symptoms of excitement and depression, often running away from home and exhibiting disorganized behavior, including biting and chewing at random. This phase is named "hydrophobia" due to the dog's aversion to the sound of water.
The paralysis stage then sets in, with symptoms such as drooling, tongue prolapse, sagging lower jaw, and paralysis of the hindquarters, eventually leading the dog to lie down and not be able to rise. Death usually occurs due to respiratory paralysis or failure. The entire course of the disease lasts approximately 6 to 10 days.
The paralytic type has a shorter excitation stage, generally lasting 2 to 4 days or may not be apparent at all, before transitioning into the paralysis stage. Due to the paralysis of the head muscles, the dog may drool, have difficulty swallowing, and exhibit paralysis of the mouth, jaw, hindquarters, and throat, leading to death within 2 to 4 days. It's important to note that some dogs may not show a typical course of the disease, so a history of bites should be considered during diagnosis.
Treatment involves immediate local bleeding, followed by thorough washing of the wound with soap and water to remove the virus from the affected tissue. If rabies immune serum is available, it should be injected around the wound in small doses, calculated at 5 mL per kilogram of body weight, and completed within 72 hours of the bite. If serum is not available, an emergency vaccination should be administered within 24 hours of the bite, followed by two more doses at intervals of 3 to 5 months to provide a sixmonth immunity.
The recommended vaccination schedule includes either a single rabies vaccine or a combination vaccine. For the single vaccine, the first dose is given at 3 to 4 months of age, followed by a second dose at 1 year, and then a booster every two to three years. For the inactivated vaccine, the first dose is given at 3 to 4 months, followed by a second dose three to four weeks later, and then an annual booster. The combination vaccine involves a primary dose at 28 to 30 days, followed by second and third doses at 15day intervals, with annual boosters during the spring and autumn.
Once clinical symptoms of rabies appear, there is no effective treatment. Dogs with rabies or those suspected of having the disease should be euthanized immediately onsite according to the principles of early, quick, strict, and minimal disturbance. The bodies should then be buried deeply.
