Rabies vaccination - is it worth it?

Oyar

I was refering only to the fact that injections were given in the fingertips ! By all means - safety comes first especially since there is no cure for rabies (if contracted)

Am not a medical professional. but have numerous medical professionals in my immediate family. Have on numerous ocassions had immediate family members in contact with dog bites / monkey attacks.

sfelts

Where can you purchase pepper spray/mace in Goa or do you need to send off to a bigger city.

Jasmin

So, if a person has the vaccine when they arrive in India (instead of before hand), how long will it take before it's fully effective?

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PeakXV

Okay fair enough I guess that qualifies you for something - but you really should read very carefully the WHO.INT acutal Factsheets that Brownboy66 has provided in his link.

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Don't go to India ~ Pre-trip Warnings & Misconceptions?

brownboy66

oooo....that's a definite doctor question that one (I have no idea). The pre bite vaccine is give in three shots on day 0, 7, and 28 - at which point the pre shot regime is complete . Maybe you can extrapolate that after 1 week you are "vaccinated" as such (with the day 28 injection being the booster) - but honestly, a travel doctor would be able to advise better than anyone here. If you get bitten, you then have 2 more shots on day 0 (day of bite), then day 3.

If you have no pre shots - then its 5 injections on day 0 (day of bite) plus day 3,7,14, and 28......plus RIG into the wound.

Nick-H

This is, I hope, nothing to do with Rabies.

The last thing we want is nervous people going around squirting mace into doggies' eyes. Ye gods!

The vast majority of street dogs are not aggressive. Subject to not mixing with them when they are doing their pack thing in the hours of the night, the worst thing they will do to you is look at hopefuly that a) you won't kick them and b) you might have a spare biscuit.

The vast majority also do not suffer from rabies.

I'd guess one would be more likely to catch TB on the streets of London!

Monkeys I don't know about because we don't have them here, but I'd worry about enraging an already aggressive animal.

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brownboy66

I'd second that. If your close enough to mace a monkey - your already too close (plus the rest of the pack wont take kindly to it either).

ebby

But rabies shot commencing in the finger tips ? Never heard of such shots even though my family members took the shot when bitten by a stray. It wasa 5 shot course taken in the upper arm over a fixed schedule.

Oyar

From personal exp -
I was bitten badly (calf swelled up like crazy & i coudnt walk for 2-3 days after that)by a dog who had already bitten about 18 people & was displaying all symptoms of rabies. My course of treatment was as follows -
1. Within 2 minutes - Wash dog bite under flowing cold water. Left open wound under flowing water for about 2-3 minutes.
2. Consulted doctor who was on the panel of doctors of Serum Institute of India, which imported either Verorab / Rabipur (cant remember now)
3. Within 2 hours - had taken my first anti rabies injection
4. At the same time also took a tetanus injection.

At now point did any doctor ever suggest or even hint at an injection near the wound. Simply because .. the germs .. mix in the blood .. they dont stay there!

Therefore if taken in time... just the HRIG is absolutely good enough.

What is mentioned on the WHO site is mentioned with the reasoning that someone from Panama to Afghanistan to Taipei to Ghana will read it. WHat is available in one country is not necessarily available in another. & they have to obviously list all possibilities.

Unfortunately for the boy - they waited for 5 days before the dog died. Also as i have mentioned - never ever WAIT for a rabies test result. A 100% accurate test result .. takes time... which looses you valuable life saving time. By then .. even if it was administered into the wound .. the boy was highly likely to die.

An animal which has been vaccinated ... is not a 100% guarantee .. because very often .. the schedules of the booster shots to the animals are missed. A booster shot given late ... has no effect at all & is useless. Also the vaccinations available for animals are not 100% guaranteed to work.

As for the kids in Canada - I would have presumed ... being in Canada they would have access to the best vaccines. Also i presume .. that if the father can afford to own a gun to shoot the fox.... then they have the bare minimum to afford the cost of LIFE saving vaccines! Yeah its exp! .. but for a kids life .. im sure sacrifices can be made!!

Oyar

Important -

When buying vaccines in places like India - better to buy from only large & reputed medical stores / pharmacies (eg. attached to big hospitals).

This is because .. most of these vaccines need to be stored under refrigeration. Rise in temperature of the vaccine can lead to an inefficient vaccine.

The smaller chemists might not have proper electrical backup in case of electrical failures... & in rural areas .. some actually even switch off their refrigerators in the night!!! (stupid.. because it hardly saves any electricity)

brownboy66

Hi Oyar. oowww! That sounds nasty, but glad to hear you're all ok. Interesting discussion this one - but again, against the background that a doctors knows best - if your doctor felt that HRIG was unnecessary then he/ she is the professional.

Couple of point to make here - I guess the original question put forward by the op was from someone who has never had the pre shots. That being the case the recommended course for someone who had never had the rabies vaccine at any time is HRIG in the wound, followed by the vaccine - which is what happened in the case of PeakXVs children. In your case - have you had the rabies vaccine before? As explained by our travel doctor to us - if you had the vaccine then you don't need the HRIG - so if I get bitten there is no need for me to get HRIG in the wound - just 3 follow up shots.

oh and re infection from the rabies virus in the bite area - I would guess the reason for putting in the wound site (aside from never having the rabies vaccine previously) is that the virus may be present in both the blood and surrounding tissue. I'm guessing here (as I'm absolutely NOT a medical professional).


ummm....I think you mean the vaccine? - like Rabipur? Probably as good a place as any to point out that HRIG is not a vaccine - its an anitbody (i.e - its the substance produced by the body in response to a disease or an vaccine). Rabipur, Verorab, and HDVC are vaccines - designed to prompt your immune system to produce its own antibodies - so unfortunately no, HRIG on its own is not enough (it wont prompt your immune system to produce antibodies).

of course your absolutely right - its information for the masses - which just gets back to the "seek medical advice ASAP" mantra.

Isn't it a tragic story. The report regarding this case attributed the death to the delay in administering the vaccine as well as the incorrect application of HRIG. But yes, can't agree with you more - do not wait - get ye to the doctor ASAP!

sounds like good advice!

Nick-H

I would have thought that most tourist dog bites would be as part of a fleeting relationship, and the bitten would be unlikely ever to see that dog again. I find it rather strange to see advice in guide books on seeing what happens to the dog!

PeakXV

Geesuz has everybody in India been or know somebody that's been bitten by a dog. Sorry I'm not a Doctor I was just relating a recent report in our local paper and perhaps the standards are different in some areas of India but go to the WHO link here - there it describes the RIG "should be infiltrated into the depth of the wound and around the wound ...." Hope that helps with any confusion.

Nick-H

I've been snapped at once. I had my bag on that side and the dog nipped it not me. I doubt that it would have drawn blood even if it had bitten me, It was a nip. It happened because I unwittingly cornered the dog and myself; we could not retreat from each other.

On one other occasion I found that one dog barking had become two. Yes, I had a little attack of nerves, quickly discounted running or even walking faster, turned around and faced them both: they melted away.

To put those two experiences in context, I've spent most of the past three years here.

PeakXV

We don't innoculate people for rabies - we innoculate the animals that come in contact with us such as our pets through the local vet. Also the government has vaccination programs through trappings of/food drops for wild animals that are proven carriers. Eventually you get cases though but they are considered rare.