Human death from rabies. Initial stage of development. Prevention and treatment

Rabies is an acute infectious disease characterized by severe damage to the central nervous system and, in the absence of timely vaccination, leads to death. This disease has been known to mankind for a long time. Back in the 1st century AD. Cornelius Celsus described a case of rabies in humans. And now rabies is found everywhere. Doctors managed to make a significant breakthrough: at the end of the 19th century, Louis Pasteur invented an anti-rabies vaccine, which saved the lives of many people. But in the 21st century, a cure for rabies has not yet been developed and people continue to die from this disease.

According to the Global Alliance for Rabies Control (GARC), approximately 160 people die from rabies every day! Most of the victims are residents of developing countries, where there are no vaccines or government programs to eliminate rabies among animals.

Causes

The causative agent of the disease is a virus of the Rabdoviridae family, genus Lyssavirus. This is a zoonotic infection. A person becomes ill when bitten or salivated on damaged skin or mucous membranes by an infected animal. From the site of introduction, the virus spreads along nerve fibers and reaches the brain, where it is fixed in the medulla oblongata and hippocampus. Here the microorganism begins to multiply, causing the development of characteristic changes: the appearance of tissue edema, hemorrhages, degenerative and necrotic foci. Then the virus spreads throughout the body through the bloodstream and enters the salivary glands, heart, lungs, kidneys, and adrenal glands.

It is noteworthy that a sick animal becomes infectious already in the last ten days of the incubation period, that is, before the first clinical signs of the disease appear. Thus, an animal that is adequate and healthy at first glance may be a potential source of rabies.

Sources of infection are sick foxes, dogs, cats, wolves, raccoon dogs, jackals, the bats. The highest incidence of rabies is observed in the summer-autumn period.

Many people are interested in whether it is possible to become infected with rabies from a sick person if he attacks and bites a healthy person? Theoretically this is possible. In fact, not a single similar case has been recorded in history.

The incubation period can be as short as twelve days or as long as one year. But on average, this period for rabies is one to three months. The duration of the incubation period is primarily influenced by which part of the body the sick animal bit. Thus, the shortest duration of the incubation period is recorded for bites in the area of the head, neck, upper extremities, and the longest - for a bite localized in the area of the lower extremities. Short incubation period observed in children. Conditions have no less influence immune system organism, the depth of the wound, as well as the amount of pathogen that has entered the wound.

There are three stages of the disease:

Initial (depression);
Excitement;
Paralytic.

initial stage

The first signs of the disease are the appearance of twitching, itching, burning, nagging pain in the area of the bite, even if the wound has already completely healed. Sometimes the wound can become inflamed again, and the skin in this area becomes swollen and red.

The victim notes general malaise, a headache may appear. The temperature rises to 37-37.5 degrees and remains at this level.

At this time, signs of damage to the nervous system already appear: the person becomes depressed, anxiety, fear, and, less often, irritability appear. Such a person withdraws into himself, refuses communication, food, and does not sleep well. Duration initial stage just one to three days. After this period, apathy gives way to excitability, increased heart rate and breathing, and the appearance of compressive pain in the chest area.

The patient becomes more and more restless. At this stage, the most characteristic sign of the disease already appears - hydrophobia. When trying to swallow water, a person experiences painful spasms of the swallowing and accessory respiratory muscles. Therefore, even at the sound of running water from the tap, a person becomes restless, breathes noisily, taking short breaths.

Central nervous system gradually becomes susceptible to any irritants. Muscle cramps can be triggered by a puff of air (aerophobia), a loud sound (acousticophobia) or a bright light (photophobia).

Noteworthy are the sharply dilated pupils, the patient's gaze is fixed on one point. The pulse is greatly increased, and there is increased salivation and sweating. The patient is unable to swallow this a large number of saliva, and therefore constantly spits or saliva runs down the chin.

At the height of the attack, psychomotor agitation occurs, the patient becomes aggressive, tears his clothes, rushes around the ward, and attacks people. At the same time, consciousness becomes darkened and the patient suffers from hallucinations of a frightening nature. During periods between attacks, consciousness can clear up and then the patient is even able to react adequately and answer the questions posed. The duration of this period is two to three days.

At this stage, convulsions and hydrophobia stop. People around often perceive such changes as an improvement in the patient’s condition, but in fact this indicates imminent death.

During this period, body temperature rises to critical levels: 40-42 degrees. There is a rapid heartbeat, falling blood pressure. Death usually occurs within 12-20 hours from paralysis of the respiratory center or heart.

On average, the illness lasts five to eight days. Described above classic version course of the disease, but not in all cases rabies occurs in this way. Thus, sometimes the disease immediately manifests itself as agitation or paralysis, without an initial period. Some patients may have no attacks of psychomotor agitation or hydrophobia at all.

Diagnostics

The diagnosis of rabies is based on epidemiological (bite by a suspicious animal) and clinical data (attacks of psychomotor agitation with hydrophobia, drooling, hallucinations). Clinical diagnostic tests are of secondary importance. Lymphocytic leukocytosis and a decrease (absence) of eosinophils are noted in the blood.

In addition, the virus can be detected in saliva and cerebrospinal fluid. The selected material is seeded into cell culture or infected mice.

An accurate diagnosis of rabies is possible only after the death of the patient. Pathologists perform a histological examination of the brain to detect disease-specific inclusions - Babes-Negri bodies.

Also a very informative method is histological examination of the brain of the biting animal. Of course, this is possible when the animal can be isolated.

As already said, effective methods There is no cure for rabies. If a person has already developed symptoms of rabies, it will inevitably lead to death. The only method of preventing death is timely vaccination. Administration of rabies immunoglobulin in the presence of rabies symptoms is no longer effective.

All are used in patient treatment possible ways to alleviate the patient's suffering. The person is placed in a noise-isolated, darkened room to prevent irritation of the nervous system by loud sounds and bright light.

The patient is administered morphine, aminazine, diphenhydramine, and chloral hydrate in large doses. If signs of respiratory failure develop, the patient may be transferred to mechanical ventilation.

Prevention

Prevention, first of all, consists of combating the source of the disease and preventing human infection. For this purpose, domestic animals are registered and vaccinated against rabies. If your pet is not vaccinated and still goes outside occasionally, there is always the possibility of contracting rabies. In addition, a person should always remember the likelihood of infection and avoid contact with stray animals. Unfortunately, people get rabies not only from bites from obviously sick wild animals, such as foxes, but also from contact with street kittens and puppies.

What to do if an animal does bite a person?

You should immediately wash the wound thoroughly with soap. Abundant washing of the wound can reduce the amount of virus ingested;
Treat the edges of the wound with 70% alcohol;
Apply a bandage. No need to tie a tourniquet;
Go to the nearest emergency room.

At the emergency room, the surgeon again washes the wound with soapy water, treats the edges of the wound with alcohol-containing preparations, washes the wound itself with an antiseptic and applies an antiseptic bandage to it. The edges of the bite wound are not sutured. After these manipulations, immunoprophylaxis begins. There are absolute and relative indications for vaccination. The risks of infection can be correctly predicted by a doctor, and it is he who decides whether vaccination is necessary.

The times when the bitten person was given forty injections in the stomach have sunk into oblivion. Currently, the rabies vaccine administration regimen consists of six injections. The first vaccine is given on the day of the bite (day 0), then on the 3rd, 7th, 14th, 30th and finally 90th day. For severe and severe bites moderate severity or for bites of any severity and a person’s late (after ten days) treatment, an additional one-time injection of anti-rabies immunoglobulin is administered.

Remember: Only timely vaccination can prevent the death of rabies. If an animal is bitten, you should go to the emergency room the same day.

Upon a person’s visit to the emergency room, the surgeon fills out an emergency notification about an animal bite, which is transmitted to the sanitary and epidemiological service. Having received the notification, epidemiologists begin to investigate the case. An animal that has bitten, even if it appears healthy at first glance, is isolated for ten days. If the specified period has passed, and the animal has not shown signs of illness, it can be said that it is healthy.

If during this time the animal developed obvious signs disease, he is killed by veterinarians, biomaterial is selected and sent for research.

What is it in external signs determine if an animal is sick? At the initial stage of the disease, the animal’s behavior changes, it becomes apathetic, avoids people, does not eat, or, on the contrary, can become very affectionate and sociable. Noted increased salivation. After a couple of days, the animal becomes aggressive, chews on inedible objects, tries to escape, attacks people and bites.

Due to paralysis of the laryngeal muscles, the animal's jaw is drooping, its tongue is protruding, foamy saliva flows from the mouth, and the animal does not drink water. Dogs' barking becomes hoarse. During this period, cats often become timid and run into secluded places, where they die. At the last stage, the animal is tormented by cramps of the limbs and torso.

Today, rabies remains one of the most dangerous diseases. This is due to the fact that there is no cure for it, and the frequency of infection is not decreasing. Every year, cases of human rabies are recorded in more than 150 countries around the world. At the same time, about 55 thousand people die every year. These are mainly residents of Asian and African countries, but tragedies occur on other continents as well.

Children are at particular risk for rabies. They are more careless and more often come into contact with animals, not paying attention to threatening symptoms. Almost half of all deaths occur among children under 15 years of age. Every year, more than ten million people are required to be immunized against rabies.

Rabies is one of the most dangerous infectious diseases caused by Rabies virus virus. All warm-blooded creatures, including humans, are susceptible to it. The main route of transmission of rabies is through the bites of infected animals. The virus is released into their saliva and, when bitten, enters the bloodstream. In addition, it can end up in a person’s blood through scratches and injuries.

The virus travels from the site of the bite along nerve fibers to the spinal cord and then to the brain. There it multiplies and causes irreversible changes in the brain. And from there it spreads throughout the body, including in saliva. The virus infects nerve cells, causing increased excitability and aggressiveness in the patient, as well as lack of coordination, spasms, paralysis and many other symptoms.

The virus is quite stable in external environment. He carries it easily low temperatures and can be stored frozen for several months. But when boiled, it dies instantly. Detrimental to the virus and direct Sun rays, as well as ultraviolet light. Almost all disinfectants can kill it.

How does the disease progress in humans?

One of the dangers of rabies is the difficulty in diagnosing it. The incubation period of the disease can vary greatly and can be short, from 9 days, and long, up to 99 days, but on average it is 30-40 days. If the bite site is on the head, this period may be shortened, and lengthened if the bite was on the limbs. During the incubation period, a person may feel normal, but sometimes an aching pain in the rumen is annoying.

After the incubation period, the first symptoms of the disease appear. They can easily be confused with any other infection, since the most frequent symptoms are headache, weakness and general malaise, slight fever, runny nose, cough, sore throat and gastrointestinal disorders: for example, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain.

After this, acute neurological disorders occur. A person may alternate between periods of apathy and anxiety, which may also be accompanied by aggressive behavior. The victim may try to run away or attack, hallucinations appear, and the psyche is completely disturbed. It is also common to experience spasms of the laryngeal muscles, which distort the face and lead to vomiting and hiccups. After 1-2 days, cold sticky sweat and profuse salivation are added to the symptoms.

A characteristic feature of rabies in humans is phobias. A fear of water appears when even the sight of it causes panic. There may also be phobias of bright light, wind, and loud sounds. In the intervals between attacks, consciousness returns to the person, and he becomes calm and adequate.

This period lasts 2-4 days, and if during this time the infected person does not die, then he enters the paralytic stage. The patient comes to his senses and calms down, he can eat and drink, but tachycardia and salivation gradually increase, he falls, lethargy and apathy increase. Paresis of the limbs and nerves gradually appears. A person’s temperature rises to very high levels, and as a result he dies from paralysis of the respiratory and cardiovascular centers. The last stage lasts 1-3 days.

Usually, 3-7 days pass from the first symptoms to the death of a person. Sometimes the course of the disease can change - for example, after a bite bats There is practically no period of excitement; paralysis begins immediately.

The most likely methods of infection

The rabies virus is contained in the saliva of a sick animal. Infection occurs when the virus enters the bloodstream, usually through a bite. It must be taken into account that the virus in saliva can appear 1-7 days before the first symptoms of the disease, so you can become infected even from an animal that looked healthy.

The most dangerous are bites from sick carnivores (especially wild ones, such as foxes). People rarely become infected from farm animals. Domestic birds get rabies, but they cannot infect humans due to the lack of salivary glands. Infection from birds of prey is possible, but unlikely due to their low prevalence.

But the bite is not the only way transmission of the virus, therefore, when contacting wild or stray animals, you must be as careful as possible. Possible routes of transmission of rabies include:

through contact with the saliva of a rabid animal on the mucous membranes of the nose, eyes, mouth and damaged skin;
through scratches caused by claws, as animals lick their paws and particles of saliva with the virus may remain on them;
while cutting up the carcass of a sick animal through scratches and wounds on the hands.

Also in medicine, cases of infection through atypical or unusual routes have been described - for example, through airborne droplets, which is only possible with a very high concentration of the virus in the air that is practically not found in nature. Isolated cases of infection have been recorded through the placenta during pregnancy and . There have also been cases of animal infection through digestive tract after eating raw meat, people haven’t gotten infected like that yet. This is due to the fact that the virus can very rarely penetrate the blood and glandular organs, and when cooked it dies instantly.

How not to get rabies

Sometimes people's fear of contracting rabies reaches such a level that they come to the hospital for vaccination, even when there is no threat of infection. The possibility of infection is excluded when:

the animal's saliva came into contact with intact skin;
the bite fell on the fabric of the clothing, and it was not damaged;
the wound was left by the claws of a bird;
boiled meat or a sick animal was consumed;
bitten by a domestic animal that has been vaccinated against rabies for a year and has not danger signs, with a non-dangerous localization of the bite.

Lysophobia is the fear of contracting rabies. It does not occur very often and is treated with psychotherapy.

If a pet is bitten, it is necessary to monitor it. If signs of the disease appear, it is necessary to begin a course of vaccination of the bitten person. A bite from any animal is a situation where you need to be careful, since a cure for rabies has not yet been invented.

What is rabies, how is it transmitted and how can you not become infected?

The conversation will focus on what rabies is, how it is transmitted and what the symptoms of this disease are. Methods of treatment and prevention will be presented. Also considered is the important question of whether rabies is transmitted from person to another person.

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Peculiarities

Answering the question what is rabies, we can answer that it is acute infectious disease, which occurs after a person is bitten by an infected animal.

It is usually severe, affecting the nervous system. In the vast majority of cases, the outcome is fatal.

According to statistics, about 99% of cases of infection occur due to a dog attack. Both domestic and wild animals can get sick.

This problem has been known to mankind since ancient times. IN different stages In history, people developed numerous recommendations for the prevention and treatment of the disease, but this did not bring results.

Even modern medicine cannot always offer a cure for this scourge. effective options treatment. However, human rabies is a preventable viral disease that is controlled by doctors with vaccines.

Prevention and treatment

This fatal disease requires preventive measures. Even a minor animal bite to a person can cause infection. This is an important point in understanding how rabies is transmitted. In any case, immediate medical attention is necessary. The subsequent course of action will be determined by the doctor. Emergency treatment is often used by administering a vaccine with active or passive action. Prevention of rabies people also have an important process that regularly requires attention.

As first aid, immediately after a bite, rinse the damaged area with running water.

This procedure must be started in the shortest possible time after the bite and continue for at least fifteen minutes.

It should be remembered that infection can occur not only through a bite and scratch, but also through saliva.

Persons who, by virtue various reasons may have regular or direct contact with sick animals, it is recommended to enter mandatory preventive vaccine.

Vaccination is carried out when:

a person is bitten by wild rodents;
saliva gets on the skin;
there was a bite or scratch from an animal suspected of carrying the virus;
the bite was applied through a thin tissue layer;
after being injured by any object contaminated with the saliva of a known infected animal.

Vaccination not carried out, When:

the wound was caused by a bird;
a bite occurred on a dense layer of tissue, without damaging the skin;
dairy or meat products from an infected animal were consumed without heat treatment;
your pet was bitten by a rodent;
received a bite from a wild rodent in places where the disease has not been noticed for two years;
there was contact with a person infected with rabies without damaging the skin or contacting the mucous membranes with infected saliva.

Methods and techniques of treatment

Once the initial symptoms have revealed themselves, the disease is considered incurable. In this case, doctors can direct their efforts only to making the patient feel better.

With the help of certain manipulations you can prolong life, but death will be inevitable.

Treatment for rabies in a person begins on the day he seeks professional help.

In most situations it is used modern version vaccine, which allows you to significantly shorten the duration of the treatment course, and also reduce the amount of the administered dose.

It should be noted that, contrary to numerous misconceptions, the vaccine is not injected into the buttock. For children it is injected into the outer part of the thigh, for adolescents and adults directly into deltoid muscle. The standard dosage is 1 ml, and its effect can reach up to 98%. An important point is to comply with the condition: the first injection must be given no later than two weeks after contact with the animal.

Important! Any violations in the vaccination regime can lead to dire consequences.

From the moment of the first vaccination, antibodies will begin to appear fourteen days later, and their maximum peak concentration will accumulate in a month. As the course is completed, a person develops immunity, which will protect the body for the next year.

Those undergoing treatment are prohibited from doing the following for six months after completing the course to avoid deterioration of immunity:

drink alcohol;
is in a sauna or bathhouse;
supercool;
be subject to significant physical fatigue.

In some cases, therapy using immunoglobulin is allowed. Often this course is carried out in combination with the introduction of a vaccine.

Symptoms

The incubation period for rabies can be from thirty to ninety days. In some cases it is reduced to ten days, and in isolated situations it can increase to a year. The duration of the period most often depends on the location of the wound, which affects the speed at which the virus reaches the brain.

Attention! Symptoms of rabies in humans after a dog bite develop in three stages.

Each stage has characteristic symptoms.

The first signs of rabies in humans appear initially within 1-3 days.

At this moment, the patient begins to suffer from the wound. Even when healed, it begins to ache in a localized area, having a nagging character.

If a bite is applied to the face, the patient may be subject to hallucinations and attacks of causeless fear. You may lose your appetite or develop apathy and irritability.

The second stage lasts a couple of days and is called the excitation stage. An increase in excitability begins, in particular, of the neuro-reflex system. Next characteristic symptom is the development of hydrophobia. This means that when a patient tries to swallow liquid, the muscles of the respiratory and swallowing tract may experience spasms.

Breathing becomes more spasmodic and rare, and facial cramps may occur. Mental disorders develop with increased excitability and violence. The patient is periodically exposed to attacks that are unsafe for his health, as well as for those around him.

The final third stage is called the stage of paralysis. It lasts no more than a day and is accompanied by deterioration in motor function. In this case, the patient visually looks normal and calm. At this time they become paralyzed internal organs and various muscle groups. The patient's body undergoes a strong jump in temperature, increased heart rate and decreased blood pressure. Then death occurs as a result of paralysis of the respiratory center and heart muscle.

Diagnostics and testing for rabies are carried out in a medical facility. Sometimes after an incident, in a state of panic, people go to the hospital to begin a course of treatment for rabies.

To correctly and timely diagnose rabies, the following measures must be taken:

accurately localize the location of the wound;
check the patient for characteristic symptoms;
conduct a laboratory examination of the eye membranes.

If all measures were carried out promptly and in a timely manner, you can begin a course of treatment or refute the diagnosis if infection has not occurred.

When is infection possible?

What does medicine know about how you can become infected with rabies: a person is at risk after being bitten or scratched by a sick animal, as well as through saliva when contact with mucous membranes.

Both wild or feral animals and pets can be dangerous. Potential carriers, one way or another, belong to the group of warm-blooded mammals.

Pets often become infected during fights or after being attacked by other animals on the street.

Thus, among pets, dogs and cats are most at risk. If the cat is completely domestic, does not leave the house and does not come into contact with other animals, then there is nothing to fear. But, if the cat is walking or walking on its own, then upon returning home it should be examined for scratches, bites and wounds.

Important! Rabies is transmitted from a cat to a person through a bite or scratch, as well as from saliva.

Sometimes even an infected animal can be a carrier of the so-called “dormant” virus and infection will not occur in the human body.

Some wonder if the disease is transmitted from person to person. As a rule, this cannot happen. There may be isolated cases when contact is made with someone who is known to be sick and saliva enters the body of another person.

However, even in this case, the likelihood of infection is extremely low. The situation may be different when an organ is transplanted from a sick person to another healthy person. However, taking into account the statistics of the disease and a whole range of preliminary examinations, the likelihood of such an incident is also practically excluded.

Video: rabies symptoms, prevention

Conclusion

The issues discussed above have been comprehensively related to dangerous disease, and also analyzed its symptoms in a person after a dog bite. Obviously, this is quite serious and often fatal disease, requiring a responsible approach and regular preventive measures.

The rabies virus enters the human body after being bitten by sick wild or domestic animals. Infection occurs when the carrier's saliva comes into contact with damaged skin or mucous membranes. The incubation period of the rabies virus ranges from 2 weeks to 2 months. In some cases this period is extended to one year. When communicating with a sick person, you should exercise basic caution, since after infection, his saliva also contains the rabies virus.

The danger comes from bites (multiple and deep), as well as any injuries to the neck, arms, head and face. Moreover, with direct contact with a carrier, the rabies virus can enter the bloodstream even through small fresh scratches, open wounds, abrasions, and mucous membranes of the eyes and mouth. For bites to the head and face, the risk of getting the virus is 90%, for injuries to the hands – 63%, legs – 23%. However, these statistics have no value for ordinary people. Remember that any bite should be regarded as a potential source of a fatal disease. In this case, it does not matter at all who exactly bit you, because, having contracted rabies, the cutest dog can turn into an evil, uncontrollable creature.

Rabies - symptoms of the disease

After entering the human body, the rabies virus begins to multiply rapidly. During this process, rabies symptoms go through 3 distinct phases:

prodromal - the first signs of rabies appear at the bite sites: itching, pain, swelling and redness of the scar. In addition, the person begins to feel a general malaise, headache, lack of air. His temperature rises and he has trouble swallowing food. Symptoms indicating a central nervous system disorder may appear (nightmares, insomnia, unreasonable fear);
encephalitic - the period of excitation begins 2-3 days after the appearance of the first symptoms. This phase is characterized by the development of painful spasms of the body muscles, provoked by the most various factors(noise, bright light, stale air). Patients become aggressive. They scream, tear their clothes, break furniture and other interior items. Between attacks, auditory and visual hallucinations and incoherent delirium may appear. In such a state, a person is very dangerous, since he exhibits abnormal “mad” strength. Along with the above symptoms, rabies in humans leads to severe tachycardia, increased sweating and excessive salivation. A characteristic feature there is also foam at the mouth;
the final phase - the rabies virus causes paralysis of the limbs and damage to the cranial nerves, but psychomotor agitation weakens. The patient becomes calmer, can eat and drink on his own, and suffers less from cramps and spasms. But this is just an appearance of normalization of the condition, because after 10-20 hours a person will inevitably die from cardiac arrest or paralysis of the respiratory center. Death comes suddenly, without agony.

One thing worth noting in particular the most important fact: rabies, the symptoms of which indicate the onset of the third phase, does not leave the victim any chance of life. Do not forget that the rabies virus is deadly, and if left untreated it is 100% likely to be fatal. For this reason, you should consult a doctor not when the first signs of rabies appear, but immediately after bites and other injuries associated with animal attacks. This is especially important given the fact that in some cases patients develop the so-called quiet fury without pronounced symptoms of agitation. With this development of signs of rabies, a person does not feel any special changes general condition and believes that everything turned out okay. The error of inaction becomes clear only after the first paralysis, when it is no longer possible to save the patient’s life.

How is rabies treated in humans?

Let us note once again that any animal bite should be considered as a potential source of infection with the rabies virus. Accordingly, the victim needs to see a doctor and undergo a course of treatment. Antiviral vaccinations against rabies are given at trauma centers. In our country, the drug COCAV is used for this. The vaccine is administered intramuscularly on days 0, 3, 7, 14, 30 and 90 after the bite. If the injury was caused accidentally, for example, while playing with a well-known pet, the course of treatment can be stopped after 10-15 days if the animal does not show signs of rabies.

Multiple injuries and bites, even in the absence of signs of rabies, require the use of rabies immunoglobulin. It is used simultaneously with vaccination in the first hours after injury. It is also very important to properly treat the wound. She is washed warm water and disinfectant composition. The edges of the wound are wiped with alcohol or 5% tincture of iodine. In addition, the patient is administered antitetanus serum.

Video from YouTube on the topic of the article:

A bite from a seemingly cute street cat can lead to... serious consequences. The most dangerous to human health and life is infection with bacteria that cause rabies. We will tell you about the symptoms of rabies in a person after a cat bite, and what measures to take to avoid the most terrible consequences.

Homeless animals are breeding grounds for various diseases and the risk of contracting rabies from their bite is maximum. Living in the basement, cats encounter rats, the main carriers of rabies. They infect the murka, which, in turn, can injure a person and introduce the virus into his blood. But not only stray cats can pose a danger, but also domestic ones with access to the street.

The peak spread of the disease occurs in spring and summer. And although it is not quite rare, it poses a great threat to human life. If you do not get vaccinated on time, you can doom yourself to a painful death.

Go to the doctor soon

There is no need to wait for signs of rabies to appear in a person from a cat bite (fear of light, sounds, difficulty swallowing), then it will be too late. It is better to see a doctor urgently in the following cases:

The bite was on the face, neck or arms. These places are close to the brain and large vessels, so the infection reaches the nervous system faster. The incubation period does not last long; after about a month, symptoms of the disease appear and lead to death faster. The more bites received, the larger the affected area by the cat’s infected saliva and the greater the amount of it that penetrates the blood. Therefore, it is necessary to get vaccinated against rabies as quickly as possible, without waiting for symptoms to appear.
A stray cat bite increases the risk of infection with a dangerous virus.
Even a pet, if allowed outside, can cause illness. Having received wounds from an infected relative or wild animals, he becomes a carrier of the rabies virus. Pay attention to the behavior of your domestic cat; if aggressiveness is noted, it is better to show it to a veterinarian.

How to recognize rabies

Signs of the disease in humans do not appear immediately; the rabies virus is activated, and then during the incubation period it affects the nervous system. The period itself takes approximately one to three months. The speed of spread of the rabies virus depends on the location of the bite; the closer to the head, the smaller it is.

The first symptom of rabies appears in the bite area. The wound suddenly becomes inflamed, itches, and causes anxiety. To this is added weakness, nausea and even vomiting. Body temperature stays around 37 degrees. Fears and hallucinations may occur.

Then comes a stage when the nervous system is constantly excited. Here obvious symptom Rabies will make it difficult to swallow, even taking a sip of water will be problematic. Breathing is also difficult. Hallucinations become frequent and scary.

The very last stage is very short in time and takes no more than one day. Painful paralysis of various parts of the body gives the patient terrible agony. Body temperature rises sharply. The result is cardiac or respiratory arrest, causing death.

Considering that rabies is incurable and extremely dangerous for humans, you need to be as careful as possible when dealing with a cat bite. Only timely contact medical institution and vaccination can save a person’s health and life. The first signs of rabies after a bite will not give him a chance. Once symptoms are detected, development occurs quickly and painfully, ultimately resulting in death.