Recent Commentary On Rabies

https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2019/t0613-rabies-transcript.html

Above has some recent dialogue re rabies.

Note the discussion's mention that bats, in US, surpassed raccoons re rabies reports.

 

If people are exposed to rabies but do not get PEP prior to symptoms starting the disease is nearly always fatal.

 

Mostly good stuff and thanks for posting it Pragmatist. But from the transcript:

This is one of many examples, and a big pet-peeve of mine, where the first-aid recommendations from medical professionals for use in a functioning 'grid-up' world fails (or is less than optimal) when the SHTF. I have little doubt that the "wash the wound immediately with soap and water" suggestion was probably influenced by the following factors that the Drs considered before publishing their recommendations to the largely ignorant masses that may only possess a room temperature IQ:

1) Since "we" don't want the ignorant masses delaying wound irrigation and cleaning while searching for a better agent, "we" should recommend only soap and water since they'll both usually be available. It will also satisfy their urge to 'Do Something' helpful, and not interfere with any of the care decisions we might make later.

2) While "we" know iodine and alcohol both have activity against the rabies virus, they also damage healthy cells and can delay wound healing. Since rabies PEP is nearly 100% effective once they reach "us", recommending the use of those agents, even if readily available, shouldn't be in "our" recommendations as they are unnecessary in a pre-hospital care setting.

3) "We" should not recommend any post-exposure treatment that might delay them from seeking "our" care as quickly as possible. So while pressurized irrigation with antiseptics such as iodine or alcohol may be effective in reducing the viral load in the wound, they are time consuming and that time is better spent getting them to "us" for definitive care.

4) Some antiseptics used in open wounds, particularly alcohol, can increase scarring. Since PEP is nearly always effective, "we" should not recommend any pre-hospital care that might result in additional cosmetic scarring.

There's likely others, those were just the ones that came to mind first. Obviously the medical establishment's recommendations are woefully inadequate when there is no hospitalization or vaccine available, and things like cosmetic scarring is the least of our worries if bitten by a suspected rabid animal after the SHTF. This is, IMO, why wilderness medical recommendations are almost always better than First-Aid recommendations, First-Aid assumes there will be a second or third levels of aid available.

 

At least they no longer do the "shot a day in the stomach" treatment.

 

I have been exposed to rabies and was treated twice in less than five years. Because I am, by nature, a compulsive researcher, I set out to learn all that I could about this disease.

At the time, I didn't know that because I had been previously treated for rabies less than five years prior, the second time I was exposed to rabies I only needed TWO booster doses, not the full ten shot regimen again. Not one nurse or doctor at the hospital or at the clinic bothered to read the dosage and usage guide that is included with each treatment syringe! If someone had read it, they would have seen the information regarding the required two-dose regimen, and I would not have been overdosed (along with nasty consequences). Sad thing is, one of the doctors had given me the full treatment at his clinic the first time it happened, less than five years before. You'd think somebody would have known what standard treatment protocol was...

The following factoids can be easily verified through reputable universities, Kansas State Veterinary School (which has one of the busiest rabies labs in the country), and the Pasteur Institute, CDC, WHO, JAMA, etc etc. Just Google it/ call/ write them. It’s all there.


Factiod #1--->>> In researching this odious subject, I learned that if your animal has a confrontation with a rabid animal, and the infected saliva gets on your animal's fur...AND if you happen to touch that area (even after the saliva has dried) within 2 HOURS of the incident...AND, if it gets into a cut or abraded skin, or if you accidentally rub it in your eyes or nose...BINGO. You could be infected with rabies. Only after the virus has dried on a surface for more than two hours, it is believed to be harmless. Until then, it is very much alive and dangerous.

While it is not good to be in morbid fear of rabies, it is a mistake to take it lightly, especially in view of so many well-documented findings. Ignorance is not always bliss.


Factiod #2--->>> Did you know that a skunk can carry the rabies virus, and pass it on to its young and to other animals, without ever appearing sick? Sometimes environmental or physical stresses can bring on full-blown symptoms, because of a compromised immune system. Otherwise, it is capable of appearing perfectly healthy--even bearing young--while passing the virus along to other animals. In many cases, a skunk first contracted the rabies virus when it was nursing from its mother...


Factiod #3--->>> Rabies in humans is more common than formerly thought. More than a few people who have died of rabies died of neurological events of unknown or misdiagnosed origin. In many cases, post mortem exams uncovered the real cause of death: rabies (almost all of them have been the bat variant).

Factiod #4--->>> For that reason, the Center for Disease Control has made this recommendation to all state health (rabies) departments: If a bat has been found in the same room with an infant or sleeping individual, it must be caught and tested for rabies, whether or not bite/scratch marks are evident on an individual (the marks may be too slight or obscure for detection). If the bat cannot be found, the individual is advised to begin rabies treatment.

I learned this the hard way, when a bat accidentally hitched a ride into my home, scratched my arm, flew off and vanished! On the third day, I caught it and had it tested. It was negative. Whew. That was a long three days because if I couldn't find the darned thing, I was told by the local health department that I would have had to go through the rabies treatment for the third time. Heh. This time I knew I would have had to only receive two booster shots, instead of the 10-shot regimen that the docs mistakenly gave me the second time I was treated. Because of my previous rabies history, which also included some nasty allergic responses in addition to serum sickness, severe anaphylaxis (hypersensitivity resulting in shock) would have been likely.

Keep in mind that rabies information can be dangerously outdated in just a year or two. So when in doubt, check and double check! Do not take a doctor's or hospital's word for anything. They may be (unknowingly) acting on outdated or incomplete information. Call / write / or email the CDC (Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, GA) yourself for the latest on it. My doctors didn't, nor did they bother to read the manufacturer's usage guidelines, that are included with each box of rabies treatment. Wow, they threw ten of these brochures away. I "rescued" the tenth one from the trash bin, and called the manufacturer. That's how I first learned about the consequences of overdose, etc.

Factiod #5--->>> To show you just how little doctors (and the rest of us) really know about this disease... Do you remember the cornea (& other organs) transplant cases that were in the news a few years ago because of rabies? The donors had died of rabies. At the time of death, the real diagnosis was unknown by the doctors. The recipients of the cornea (and recipients of other organs by another donor) all died of rabies, because of misdiagnosis. It was previously unheard of to contract rabies this way!

Factiod #6--->>> Another startling discovery: Live rabies virus has been known to survive in the poop of owls that have eaten rabies infected prey. The virus begins to die only after the pellets have completely dried.

Factiod #7--->>> For best protection, ALWAYS use the "killed rabies virus vaccine" rather than the "modified live vaccine", which has been associated with actually causing rabies in some animals, due to defective vaccines. Naturally, the killed virus cannot reproduce and is deemed safe. Sometimes things go wrong with the "modified live" virus. It does not happen often, but why take a chance? Use only the "killed rabies virus vaccine".

Factiod #8--->>> Rabies virus can have a much longer incubation period than most people think. Medical journals contain more than a few cases where full-blown symptoms did not develop until months after exposure to the pathogen. There have been a few rare cases of incubation periods lasting for years before symptoms were presented.


In a nutshell:


1. Even if you think your animals will never, ever contact another animal (that you know of), please vaccinate your animals against rabies.

2. Only after the virus has dried on a surface for more than two hours, is it believed to be harmless.

3. Ignorance is not always bliss.

4. A skunk can carry the rabies virus, and pass it on to its young and to other animals, without ever appearing sick.

5. If a patient is suffering from neurological distress of serious magnitude and is not responding to conventional treatment, investigate the possibility of rabies infection.

6. Bats are very beneficial for the ecosystem as insect eaters, but they may not be so good for your system. Stay away from them.

7. Doctors and nurses are not gods and can make mistakes. Sometimes really stupid ones, too. Don't be afraid to double check.


.

 

Good afternoon Gate Crasher,

A high-quality thesis; I do follow what you wrote.

Plus, Good afternoon Grizzleyette,

Re Fact. 3; Didn't Count Dracula of Romania area have rabies ?

Re Fact. 4, para 2's "Do not take doctors or hospital's word for anything"; Registrants of VA Medical System are intimately familiar.

 

Thanks so much for that info. I live way out in the country and that info was greatly appreciated. Often I live trap both raccoons and skunks and relocate them so I will now be a lot more careful how I handle them and also inform the kiddo much of that info you shared.

 

You're so welcome, brother. Please pass it on! There is a LOT of ignorance Out There (even among medical professionals because they're often just too busy to keep up with the latest info).


.