Rabies is a deadly virus found in more than 155 countries and for which there is no cure. It does not like the external environment and dies in 15 minutes if the temperature rises to 55-600, and in 2 minutes when boiling. Ultraviolet rays, sun and alcohol can also kill the virus. It is transmitted mainly through the saliva of a sick animal, for example, if a mad dog bites, it does not matter where he did it and you need to go to the hospital as soon as possible. In such a situation, immediate action should be taken and the person should be vaccinated against rabies in the first days after infection.
In order to understand how long the rabies vaccination works, you need to focus on the administered medicine and consult a doctor. Basically, the effect of the injection is not eternal and the resulting immunity will only last for a short period of time (1-3 years). Animals should receive a rabies vaccine once a year to prevent infection. People are given vaccinations against this virus if they wish, but many countries, such as Thailand, have introduced a mandatory vaccination procedure.
Features of the rabies vaccine
A cure for rabies has never been invented, but its development can be stopped if a human rabies vaccine called COCAV is administered in time. It is used for both children and adults in the same quantity and according to an identical scheme. If a person has not been vaccinated against this virus in the next year or the likelihood of infection is extremely high, then an injection of immunoglobulin (a drug to stimulate immunity) will be required.
Injections against the rabies virus are given only if there is suspicion, for example, after an animal has bitten or licked a wound. The procedure is performed in any emergency room. In the old days, doctors gave the patient 40 injections in the stomach, but now it is enough to perform 6 injections.
Treatment of rabies in humans begins on the first day after the bite in the form of a vaccine injection. Next, there is a vaccination schedule of 3, 7, 14, 28 and the final one will be performed on the 90th day.
The resulting immunity will protect a person from the virus and prevent it from developing beyond the incubation period. Anyone can afford such a course, because it is free and the question of how much a rabies vaccination costs is relevant only for animals. This became possible after the government allocated funds for mandatory vaccination.
Sometimes people have the opportunity to monitor an animal that has bitten. In such a situation, you can understand how many injections need to be given on the 10th day, because if the dog is alive and well, then the doctor will cancel the course of treatment.
Rabies vaccinations are usually given intramuscularly just below the shoulder, and if children are infected, then in the outer thigh. Some experts do not recommend such injections into the gluteal muscle.
Vaccination schedule
Is the vaccine dangerous for humans? No, but only if it is not only entered correctly, but also in a timely manner. It is generally accepted that if the vaccination is given later than two weeks from the moment of the bite, then it is practically ineffective. When active manifestations of the disease are already observed, it is no longer advisable to use it.
What current anti-rabies regimens exist for humans ? Their main differences lie in the amount of vaccine for emergency and routine immunization.
How is routine rabies vaccination carried out?
- The first injection is administered.
- The next injection occurs on the seventh day.
- The last time is on the 30th day.
- Revaccination should be done after a year.
How long does the rabies vaccine last in the human body? — with planned regular manipulation, vaccine preparations protect for the next three years, so all subsequent injections of rabies serum are given at intervals of three years.
It is worth noting that a few decades ago , during the existence of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the vaccine was unrefined, so injections were given at least 20 times in the abdominal area. Having this information, it was difficult to sign up for it and complete the entire preventive course. Today, emergency prevention of rabies is carried out in a more loyal way, and the frequency of vaccination is significantly less.
In case of emergency vaccination for the treatment of an infected person, the drug is administered five times according to the following scheme:
- Immediately after infection.
- On the third day after the first administration.
- On the seventh day.
- Two weeks later, starting from the first injection.
- On day 30.
This is a standard emergency care scheme for an infected person. But sometimes, in order to consolidate the result, a sixth injection is administered at the end of the third month, starting from the first administration of the drug.
In what area of the human body can rabies injections be given? Today, drugs for this purpose are used exclusively intramuscularly. For children over 16 years of age and adults, injection of the vaccine is indicated into the deltoid muscle, that is, the outer contour of the shoulder.
A child is vaccinated against a fatal disease only in the hip area. Vaccination in the buttock area is prohibited. The amount of medication administered in children does not differ from adults.
Vaccine effectiveness
After a series of rabies injections, a person is usually in no danger. Only the following factors can distort the effect:
- Immunity killed by third-party pathologies;
- Long-term use of glucocorticoid and immunosuppressive medications;
- Delaying the first injection for 2 or more weeks;
- Violations of the quantity, expiration date, treatment regimen and storage conditions of the vaccine;
- Drinking alcoholic beverages;
- Skipping an injection.
If you avoid all of the above factors, rabies injections will work. Otherwise, you will not be able to achieve results and you need to stop standing still and notify your doctor about this.
Cautions when using the vaccine
The following medications have a negative effect on the production of antibodies:
- immunomodulators;
- hormonal, in particular glucocorticosteroids;
- chemotherapy;
- used in radiation therapy.
The decision to cancel them is made only by the attending doctor. You cannot refuse to take them on your own. During therapeutic and prophylactic immunization, the use of other vaccines is prohibited. Other vaccinations are permitted only two months after completing the full course of rabies immunization.
Timing of medication administration
You should always try to get your rabies vaccination on time, because it is the most important part of prevention. The disease occurs differently in animals and people, and the timing of drug administration, as well as the development of pathology, depends on the following nuances:
- The time from the moment the virus enters the body until the first signs appear is usually from 10-14 days to a year. That is why rabies vaccination should be performed if there is even minimal suspicion. After all, people, having forgotten about the incident and not seeing any signs in the first weeks, think that it has passed, but the disease can develop a little later. You can reduce the probability to virtually zero with the help of 3 doses of the vaccine and 1 immunoglobulin, and for complete protection it is recommended to complete the entire course;
- The virus is not transmitted from person to another person. However, there have been cases where rabies was transmitted along with a transplanted organ. This is possible while the disease is in the incubation period;
- The rabies vaccine is given mainly to children, because they play with animals more often than others. Sometimes it is not possible to save children because they are afraid to talk about the bite, especially because of the stories that they need to take 40 injections against this virus.
Timely vaccination against rabies helps the body synthesize antibodies. They block the entry of the virus into the nerve fibers, which prevents it from entering the CNS (central nervous system) and causing acute encephalitis. It is from this that patients most often die.
The incubation phase of the disease lasts a certain period of time, which depends on the location of the bite. The fastest developing virus is one that enters the body through the upper part of the body (from the torso and above). Rabies manifests itself much more slowly if the lower half (below the torso) was bitten.
The host of the virus is most often wild animals (wolves, foxes, etc.) and it is they who most often infect people. In second place are stray dogs. If a pet has bitten, then in such a situation they usually do not give rabies injections. After all, such animals undergo annual vaccination and it is enough to observe them for 10 days.
If vaccinations are still dangerous, is it worth doing them at all?
There is a good old way of solving such dilemmas - “choose the lesser of two evils.” We have already become familiar with the degree of danger of vaccinations in the previous paragraph. How dangerous is rabies? But here the numbers look more convincing - the probability of developing this disease after a bite from a rabid animal is 24-90%, depending on the location of the bite.
So the decision is: To vaccinate or not to vaccinate? – in practice it comes down to answering the main question: is there a danger of contracting rabies or is there no such danger.
If there is such a danger, then the decision is clear - you need to get vaccinated. There are no contraindications for vaccination in this case, because we are talking about saving lives.
The decision is clear even in cases where there is no danger of infection. If there is complete confidence in the absence of direct contact with an animal that is sick or suspected of rabies, or if the bitten pet remains healthy after 10 days of observation (the animal becomes infectious 7-10 days before the onset of rabies symptoms), there is no need to vaccinate.
The degree of danger of rabies infection depends on many factors - the prevalence of rabies in a particular area, the severity and location of the bite, the type of animal and its habitat (wild or domestic), etc.
The decision to vaccinate can be difficult if the risk of infection is difficult to assess, for example if the animal is missing or unknown. Developed on the basis of 130 years of experience in rabies vaccinations accumulated by world medicine, rabies vaccination schemes eliminate the influence of subjective and random factors on decision-making. The cost of a mistake can be too high, so it’s better not to split hairs, but to rely on collective experience and do what everyone else does - go to the nearest emergency room and get a course of vaccinations in accordance with the standard schedule.
Side effects after injection
Sometimes after a rabies vaccination for a person, side effects are observed in the first weeks and then disappear. Among them are the following:
- Nausea, vomiting;
- Itching;
- Trophoneurotic edema (Quincke's edema);
- Trembling in the arms and legs;
- Pain in muscles, joints and gastrointestinal tract;
- General weakness;
- Temperature surges;
- Hives;
- Dizziness.
Side effects from the rabies vaccine do not always occur and go away quickly. This often happens if there are contraindications or the procedure was performed incorrectly.
Indications for vaccination against the disease
Despite the fact that the serum was invented more than one century ago, today it remains the only proven method that protects against infection with a fatal disease.
Who should definitely get vaccinated?
- Recommended for people who frequently travel or go on business trips, where there is an increased likelihood of contracting the virus.
- Emergency preventive manipulation is carried out for everyone who has been bitten by a suspicious animal.
- Preventive vaccination is indicated for hunters, foresters and taxidermists - specialists who make stuffed animals from killed animals.
- Slaughterhouse workers are required to be vaccinated.
- Rabies vaccinations must be given to laboratory workers who, due to the nature of their work, regularly encounter infectious agents.
- Nursery employees, as well as workers involved in catching and keeping stray animals, are subject to vaccination.
- The risk group includes veterinarians.
Primary and secondary prevention
In order for the child to develop good immunity, the rabies vaccination is given 3 times. The second injection is usually prescribed a week after the first, and the third after 3-4 weeks. This type of prevention is called primary prevention and is performed to prevent the virus from occurring in the baby.
Vaccinating a child against rabies provides temporary protection against the virus, but if it is not there and the baby has been bitten, then it is advisable to find out whether the animal has this disease. Most often this cannot be done and you will have to undergo a course of injections. It consists of 1 injection of immunoglobulin and 6 injections of the COCAB vaccine, 5 of which must be given within 28 days, and the last within 90 days.
The body temperature most often does not rise after vaccination and it is better to start therapy no later than 1-2 days from the moment of the bite. Immediately after the incident, it is advisable to immediately treat the damaged area. To do this, you should superficially treat the wound with an antiseptic solution and inject immunoglobulin into it. This medicine is recommended to be injected into the surrounding tissues. The dosage is selected individually and is based on the person’s body weight. The remaining permissible amount of medicine should be injected intramuscularly away from the bite.
After vaccination, the injection of immunoglobulin should be made as far as possible from the site where COCAV was administered. This injection is performed only once and this is enough to synthesize antibodies in the blood. Over time, under the influence of the vaccine, the body itself will be able to produce them. Repeated administration of immunoglobulin is prohibited, since the second injection can disrupt the functioning of the produced antibodies and their synthesis.
Often, a standard drug administration scheme is used, namely at 0, 3, 7, 14, 28, 90. They must be carried out strictly on time and it is forbidden to drink alcohol during this period of time, so as not to reduce the effectiveness of the vaccine. It is permissible to interrupt the course of injections only if the animal that bitten turned out to be healthy. Such preventive measures are called secondary, that is, taken after a bite and without prior vaccination.
Can the temperature rise after a rabies vaccination and is it dangerous?
Since a virus (even if killed) is introduced into the body, this can provoke a reaction in the form of a short-term rise in body temperature.
This condition is not dangerous or life-threatening. In most cases, hyperthermia lasts no more than a few hours and goes away on its own or is eliminated by taking antipyretic drugs.
The latter are recommended if the values on the thermometer exceed 38 degrees or if a child or adult, due to the individual characteristics of the body, does not tolerate elevated body temperature.
Contraindications
This type of vaccination also has its own contraindications, which must be taken into account before prescribing a course of injections, namely:
- Oncological diseases;
- HIV infection (AIDS);
- Remaining side effects from the previous vaccine.
Primary prevention is not carried out if the immune system is severely weakened, especially for children. If adverse reactions to the vaccine occur, treatment is carried out with antihistamines. If a person has egg white intolerance, then experts prohibit the use of drugs based on chicken embryos.
general information
Only vaccination can prevent the development of rabies. The route of transmission is from a sick animal to humans. Contacts with rodents, wolves, badgers, foxes, raccoon dogs, bats, unvaccinated dogs and cats are dangerous. The virus enters through the animal’s saliva onto the mucous or damaged skin of a person and further into the blood. As it moves forward, it quickly reaches the nerve cells of the spinal cord and cerebral cortex, causing the dangerous disease encephalitis. After the first symptoms appear, death occurs within 7-10 days. The incubation period is vague and lasts from ten to fifty days, depending on the location of the bite, the size of the wound, and the age of the individual. The greatest danger is from injuries and wounds to the upper extremities, chest, neck and face. In these cases, it is necessary to inject immunoglobulin into the bite area.
Reviews
There are not many reviews about vaccination against the rabies virus. In them, people talk about moral peace after completing a course of injections and that all procedures are absolutely free. Residents of the provinces and those living near forests use them especially often. The reviews noted that it was better to endure the side effects than to die from a painful death, since only 10 people survived the disease. Of these, only 3 cases were confirmed.
Judging by the comments of young mothers, the injections themselves are not particularly painful and children tolerate them well. If the baby is bitten by a pet, which is vaccinated annually, then experts advise treating the wound with antiseptics and not worrying. To calm down, you can take the child to the pediatrician and observe the animal for 10 days.
Vaccination against the rabies virus is often used as a preventive measure. After all, it is better to play it safe than to die in agony from such a serious disease that has no treatment.
When and what vaccinations are given?
The sooner a patient bitten by an animal or person under suspicious circumstances is vaccinated, the greater the chance of blocking infection of the central nervous system with rhabdovirus. After the initial sanitation, the wound is injected “around the perimeter” with a drug containing anti-rabies (developed specifically for the rabies pathogen) immunoglobulins; one portion must be injected into its cavity.
The patient then receives a series of injections of the vaccine itself. Pets, farm animals and representatives of high-risk areas are subject to mandatory vaccination every 3 years:
- hunters;
- veterinarians;
- dog handlers and dog handlers;
- rangers and other forestry employees.
The modern vaccine is administered intramuscularly, six times. The first administration is carried out as quickly as possible after a suspicious bite, subsequent ones - on the 3rd, 7th, 14th, 30th and 90th days. The immunity it gives is unstable, and it needs to be periodically “renewed”. Re-vaccination is done after a year, then every 3 years.
