What should you know about rabies infection?

The virus can enter through broken skin or the moist surfaces of the eyes, mouth, or nose. It travels through nerves toward the brain. Early symptoms may resemble a general illness, with fever, weakness, headache, or unusual sensations near an old wound. Later illness can affect swallowing, breathing, movement, alertness, and behaviour.

Once symptoms develop, rabies is a medical emergency. A person may need assessment even when the wound looks small, because the risk depends on the animal, the contact, and whether saliva reached damaged skin or a mucous membrane.

Wash a bite, scratch, or saliva-contaminated wound immediately with plenty of soap and running water. Do not seal the area with an improvised dressing or apply irritating chemicals. Contact an emergency service or urgent-care clinician without waiting for symptoms. Provide details about the animal, the time and location of contact, the wound, and any available vaccination information.

A clinician will decide whether post-exposure treatment is needed. It may involve wound care, rabies vaccine, and rabies immunoglobulin for some exposures. See Rabies Post-Exposure Prophylaxis for the treatment pathway.

Seek urgent care now after a bite or scratch from a mammal that may carry rabies, or when saliva touches broken skin, the eyes, mouth, or nose. Go immediately if fever, confusion, agitation, difficulty swallowing, excessive drooling, weakness, or unusual sensitivity develops after an exposure.

Ask whether the contact counts as an exposure, which treatment is needed, when each dose should be given, and how the wound should be monitored. Tell the clinician about previous rabies vaccination, immune problems, pregnancy, and medicines you take.