RABIES: Detailed Information

There are two forms of rabies, the furious and the dumb. In the furious type, the rabid dog is unduly aggressive and attacks without provocation. In the dumb form, the affected dog appears sick and tends to isolate itself in dark cold places with a “worried” facial expression.

Once a puppy reaches the age of one month, the animal has to be immunized with antirabies shots to be repeated at the age of three months and then followed by a yearly vaccination. The cost of immunizing dogs against rabies is P150 per dose. That’s a neglible sum if one considers the P25,000 to P 30,000 cost of treating a bitten person, who weighs a minimum of 50 kilograms .

Rabid dogs normally wander. They lose their sense of association once they get out of their territory. So, once a rabid dog enters another territory and engages another dog in a fight, the other dog, if not immunized, will likely be infected with the rabies from the rabid dog. If and when this dog also bites, then its victim acquires the virus.

Another way of acquiring the rabies from a rabid dog is when the animal licks an open mucous membrane or the open wound of a person. Licking transmits the virus, which is present in the saliva of the infected animal.

Wow. I didn’t know this about rabies. Very interesting article.