What should you know about rabies fever?

Rabies is a viral infection usually passed through saliva from an infected mammal, commonly through a bite. Early illness may include fever, headache, tiredness, discomfort, or unusual sensations near the wound. These symptoms overlap with many everyday infections, so they cannot confirm rabies by themselves. Once neurological symptoms appear, illness can worsen quickly and may include confusion, agitation, trouble swallowing, sensitivity to air or water, weakness, or paralysis.

Wash a bite, scratch, or saliva-contaminated break in the skin promptly with soap and running water. Do not seal the wound or wait for fever to appear. Contact urgent medical services and describe the animal, the contact, the wound, and when it happened. A clinician will decide whether rabies post-exposure prophylaxis is needed; this can include wound care, vaccine, and, in some situations, rabies immunoglobulin. Read more about Rabies Post-Exposure Prophylaxis and Rabies Vaccination.

Seek urgent care immediately after any bite or scratch from a mammal that could carry rabies, or when saliva enters the eyes, mouth, or broken skin. Do not delay because the wound looks small or the animal has disappeared. Emergency help is needed for fever with confusion, difficulty swallowing, breathing difficulty, severe agitation, new weakness, or unusual sensitivity to air or water.

Ask whether the contact counts as a rabies exposure, whether the wound needs additional cleaning, which preventive treatment is appropriate, and what symptoms should prompt emergency review. Tell the clinician about prior rabies vaccination and any medicines or immune conditions.