What should you know about a dog vaccinated against rabies?

A current, documented rabies vaccine is useful information for a clinician and public-health team. It lowers concern about the dog's infection status, yet no vaccine record can confirm what happened at the moment of an exposure. The dog's behaviour, health, vaccination date, and ability to be observed may all matter.

Rabies can spread when saliva from an infected animal enters broken skin or the eyes, mouth, or nose. Touching a healthy dog's fur is not the same type of exposure. A bite that breaks skin, a scratch contaminated with saliva, or saliva on a wound should be assessed.

Wash a bite or scratch promptly with soap and running water. Do not seal a deep wound yourself or put household substances into it. Record the dog's owner's contact details, vaccination certificate, and description of the incident if available, while avoiding another encounter with the animal.

Contact urgent medical care promptly for an exposure. A clinician will decide whether rabies post-exposure treatment, tetanus protection, antibiotics, or wound treatment is appropriate. Read more about Rabies Post-Exposure Prophylaxis and Rabies Vaccination.

Seek urgent assessment for any bite that breaks skin, a scratch with possible saliva, saliva contacting the eyes or mouth, or a wound on the face, hand, foot, or near a joint. Go immediately for heavy bleeding, severe pain, loss of movement, trouble breathing, or rapidly increasing swelling.

Ask whether the exposure needs rabies treatment, whether the wound needs closure or antibiotics, what observation information is needed about the dog, and when you should return for a wound review.