When to Seek Medical Care

If you think an exposure to a rabid animal has occurred, call your doctor immediately.

• The doctor should discuss both the animal's risk for having rabies and the risk of the exposure for transmission of the virus.

• The doctor also should know if you have previously received vaccination against rabies, either because you're in a high-risk profession (for example, a veterinarian or zoo worker) or you have been exposed to a potentially rabid animal before. If you have been vaccinated previously, it will change the treatment that will follow after a new potential exposure.

• Because rabies is such a rare disease, the doctor may be unfamiliar with the need for treatment or may not have the vaccine in the office for prompt administration. The local public health department is a good source of information in these cases, and a hospital's emergency department is a good place to seek medical care.

• In addition to the potential for transmission of rabies, other medical issues need to be checked:
  
  
  • Transmission of regular bacterial germs from the mouth of the biting animal
    
    
  • Need for an injection to maintain protection, or immunity, against tetanus (another type of infection that can be transmitted by bites or to open wounds)
    
    
  • Issues of wound repair
  
  
• Even the most trivial bite can transmit rabies. Any bite or scratch by a rabid animal warrants the administration of rabies shots. Whether or not that animal is at risk for rabies depends somewhat on the region of the country and on the species of the animal. Any exposure to a bat where a bite cannot be ruled out is a significant exposure.