What to know about rabies

Exposure can occur when saliva from a potentially infected mammal enters a bite, scratch, broken skin, or the eyes, nose, or mouth. Simply touching an animal or contact with intact skin does not generally transmit rabies.

Bites from dogs, cats, bats, foxes, or other mammals may require assessment depending on the animal, location, behaviour, vaccination status, and type of contact. A tiny bat bite or scratch may be difficult to see, so direct bat contact should be described clearly to a clinician.

Once rabies symptoms begin, the infection damages the brain and nerves and is usually fatal. Early symptoms can include fever, headache, weakness, or unusual sensations at the wound, followed by agitation, confusion, swallowing difficulty, fear or distress around water, paralysis, or seizures. Prevention must therefore start before symptoms rather than waiting to see whether illness develops.

Wash and flush the wound thoroughly with soap and running water as soon as possible, then apply an available antiseptic. Do not tightly close or cauterise the wound yourself. Seek urgent medical assessment the same day, even if the injury looks minor or happened while travelling.

A clinician will decide whether rabies vaccine and rabies immunoglobulin are needed, using the exposure details and any previous rabies vaccination. Treatment may still be needed when the animal appears healthy. If safe, record where the incident occurred and what the animal looked like, but do not chase, capture, or handle it.

Every bite, scratch, or saliva contact with broken skin or mucous membranes from a potentially rabid mammal warrants prompt professional advice. This urgency is based on the exposure itself, not on pain, wound size, or whether symptoms are present.

Call emergency services for trouble breathing or swallowing, confusion, severe agitation, seizures, or new paralysis. Tell the team about any animal exposure and where it occurred.

Ask whether the contact qualifies as a rabies exposure, whether immunoglobulin is indicated, what vaccine schedule to follow, how previous vaccination changes care, and whether tetanus or antibiotic treatment is also needed for the wound.