This week I read in the newspaper about a man in Alberta dying of rabies. Not seeking medical attention after a bite from any animal is concerning, but bats are well known carriers of rabies. The difficulty of dealing with rabies is that there is no real treatment; anti-viral drugs are very limited and generally ineffective. Treatment usually involves a series of vaccinations to try to build up the body's own immune system to kill the virus as it travels up the nerves to the brain.
Several years ago a postal worker beat a bat flying at him with an umbrella. The household owner brought the bat to us and when it tested positive we immediately contacted the post office. The letter carrier wasn't concerned and fortunately didn't develop rabies but we were certainly reminded of the prevalence of rabies.
As a veterinarian I am especially concerned with rabies. There are two forms of rabies and although most of us have seen the 'Old Yeller Disney' version of the 'furious' form of rabies the dumb form is more concerning. A rabid animal brought to a veterinarian for examination with the dumb form may simply be off of their food and acting depressed. In the meantime the veterinarian has examined the mouth and risked themselves to exposure of rabies. If cost is a concern and people inform me they can only afford one vaccination I usually advise they at least get the rabies vaccinations. Rabies kills and although the incidence of seeing the disease has greatly decreased this is only because of the vigilance of rabies vaccinations and the improvement in the vaccines. After the initial one year vaccination, rabies inoculations needs to be given only every three years here in British Columbia.
Besides protecting myself and the pet by vaccinating them, I also am protecting the caregiver, the public and the pets in contact. You can not take your pet outside of Canada without rabies vaccinations and if their pet bites someone the first question usually asked is if the pet has a current rabies vaccination. There is no blood test that can be performed and the only way to test if your pet has rabies is to send away the brain - most pet caregivers wouldn't really want to do that!
