What should you know about oral rabies vaccine?

Oral rabies vaccines are used in some animal-control programmes to reduce rabies in wildlife. They should not be assumed to protect a person after a bite, scratch, or contact between saliva and broken skin or the eyes, mouth, or nose.

Human rabies vaccination is given by injection. Once a possible exposure occurs, clinicians assess the animal, the wound, and the type of contact before arranging post-exposure prophylaxis. Do not wait for symptoms: rabies can become life-threatening after symptoms begin.

Wash and flush the wound thoroughly with soap and running water as soon as possible, without scrubbing aggressively or applying irritating chemicals. Then seek urgent medical care, even if the wound looks small or the animal appears well.

Tell the clinician where and when the contact happened, which animal was involved, whether it can be observed safely, and whether saliva touched broken skin or a mucous membrane. The team may recommend an injected vaccine series and rabies immunoglobulin according to the exposure assessment.

Go to an emergency service immediately after a bite, scratch that breaks skin, or saliva exposure from a potentially rabid animal. Seek help urgently for confusion, agitation, difficulty swallowing, fear or spasms triggered by drinking, or progressive weakness, while recognising that prevention must begin before these symptoms.

Ask whether the contact counts as a rabies exposure, whether injected post-exposure prophylaxis is needed, when each dose is due, and whether wound care or tetanus protection is required. Ask what animal-health or public-health service should be contacted.