Rabies - Prevention

Prevention

All human cases of rabies were fatal until a vaccine was developed in 1885 by Louis Pasteur and Émile Roux. Their original vaccine was harvested from infected rabbits, from which the virus in the nerve tissue was weakened by allowing it to dry for five to 10 days. Similar nerve tissue-derived vaccines are still used in some countries, as they are much cheaper than modern cell culture vaccines.

The human diploid cell rabies vaccine was started in 1967; a new and less expensive purified chicken embryo cell vaccine and purified vero cell rabies vaccine are now available. A recombinant vaccine called V-RG has been successfully used in Belgium, France, Germany, and the US to prevent outbreaks of rabies in undomesticated animals. Currently, immunization prior to exposure has been used in both human and nonhuman populations, where, as in many jurisdictions, domesticated animals are required to be vaccinated.

In the US, since the widespread vaccination of domestic dogs and cats and the development of effective human vaccines and immunoglobulin treatments, the number of recorded human deaths from rabies has dropped from 100 or more annually in the early 20th century, to one to two per year, mostly caused by bat bites, which may go unnoted by the victim and hence untreated.

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Communicable Disease Surveillance 2007 Annual Report states the following can help reduce the risk of exposure to rabies:

• Vaccinating dogs, cats, rabbits, and ferrets against rabies

• Keeping pets under supervision

• Not handling wild animals or strays

• Contacting an animal control officer upon observing a wild animal or a stray, especially if the animal is acting strangely

• Washing the wound with soap and water for 10 to 15 minutes, if bitten by an animal, and contacting a healthcare provider to determine if postexposure prophylaxis is required

September 28 is World Rabies Day, which promotes information on, and prevention and elimination of the disease.