What should you know about monkey rabies?

Rabies is a serious infection affecting the nervous system. Exposure can occur through a bite, a scratch that breaks the skin, or saliva contacting broken skin or the eyes, mouth, or nose. The animal may not look ill, and waiting for symptoms is unsafe because early symptoms can be nonspecific.

Not every monkey carries rabies, but the animal’s appearance cannot rule it out. A clinician will consider the contact, the wound, the animal, and local public-health advice when deciding whether preventive treatment is needed.

Wash a bite or scratch immediately with plenty of soap and running water, then seek urgent care. Do not seal the wound with a tight dressing or rely on home remedies. Tell the clinician when and where the contact happened, whether skin was broken, and whether saliva reached your face. Rabies post-exposure prophylaxis may include wound care, vaccination, and other treatment based on the assessment.

Seek urgent medical care today after any bite, scratch, or saliva exposure that could have reached broken skin or a mucous membrane. Go immediately for a deep wound, bleeding that will not stop, facial or hand injuries, or signs of infection such as increasing redness, swelling, warmth, or discharge. Do not wait for fever, tingling, difficulty swallowing, or unusual behaviour.

Was this contact a rabies exposure? Do I need post-exposure treatment or a booster? How should I dress the wound? Do I need tetanus or antibiotics as well?