We need to identify the signs of rabies in both animals and humans so we can provide the relevant information to communities, take preventive action, and provide appropriate medical treatment when needed. Yet, it is important to remember that we can never rule out that a dog is infected with rabies from its appearance and behavior alone.

We need to identify the signs of rabies in both animals and humans so we can provide the relevant information to communities, take preventive action, and provide appropriate medical treatment when needed. Yet, it is important to remember that we can never rule out that a dog is infected with rabies from its appearance and behavior alone.

Signs of Rabies in animals:

• Behaviour changes: Dogs and other animals with rabies may act strangely. They might become aggressive without being provoked. This may be accompanied by strange barking.
• Drooling: Excessive drooling or foaming at the mouth is a common sign.
• Paralysis: Rabies can cause paralysis. The animal may be unable to stand or walk normally.
• Lethargy: A rabies-infected animal is weak, sleepy, and uninterested in the world around it.

Signs of Rabies in humans:

• Early symptoms: These can include fever, pain, and unusual or unexplained tingling, pricking, or burning sensations at the wound site.
• Advanced symptoms: As the virus moves to the central nervous system, progressive and fatal inflammation of the brain and spinal cord develops.
• There are two forms of rabies:
  • Furious rabies results in hyperactivity, excitable behaviour, hallucinations, lack of coordination, hydrophobia (fear of water), and aerophobia (fear of drafts or of fresh air). Death occurs after a few days due to cardio-respiratory arrest.
  • Paralytic rabies accounts for about 20% of the total number of human cases. This form of rabies progresses less intensely and usually over a longer period than the furious form. Muscles gradually become paralyzed, starting from the wound site. A coma slowly develops, and eventually, death occurs. The paralytic form of rabies is often misdiagnosed, contributing to the under-reporting of the disease.

The incubation period for rabies, which is the time it takes for symptoms to appear after exposure (such as a bite, scratch, or lick), varies. It can be as short as a few days, typically ranges from 3 to 7 weeks, and can extend up to one year. The length of the incubation period may be considerably shorter if the virus enters the body close to the head (and the central nervous system, CNS) or if the viral load is high. People who have become infected develop symptoms of rabies when the virus reaches the brain. Once symptoms appear, the survival rate is practically zero.

Rabies can be prevented after exposure to the virus with post-exposure prophylactic (PEP) vaccination if administered before the onset of symptoms.

As long as symptoms have not developed, it is not too late for a person who has been bitten by a rabies-infected animal to receive the PEP vaccine that prevents the disease from progressing and becoming fatal.

This is why it is important to act quickly when someone is bitten, scratched, or licked by a dog or other animal that could have rabies. Because it is impossible to determine with certainty if a live animal has rabies, it is necessary to act with great caution. The person should be seen by a health worker who can decide if PEP vaccination is required.

Click NEXT to find out the key actions we can take to prevent rabies-related deaths.