For those wondering, yes, I'm still breathing, just busy so haven't posted
here in awhile.
Kathy Maxwell inquired:
>I was wondering if anyone could answer an interesting question that came
>up today on the subject of rabies and animals. If a human gets bit by a
>rabid animal there's treatment. If we can do this for humans why then if
>our pets get rabies can they not get the same treatment (if caught right
>away) only in smaller doses?
Theoretically yes, they could get immunoglobulin from an animal of the
same species that had been hyper-immunized (immunized a lot to get their
antibody levels high for collection). Immunoglobulin shots are part of
the post exposure treatment done for humans who have not been vaccinated
against rabies and have had a potential (or known) exposure. When a human
that *has* been immunized and is 'current' on their vaccination against
rabies, they do not get the immunoglobulin-they get booster shots instead.
Here's the problem: immunoglobulin has to be collected and stored. The
procedure involves giving more vaccinations than normal to the donor,
collecting blood, and separating the plasma components out for use. (With
humans the plasma collection is normally done through apheresis rather
than whole blood collection.) It's expensive stuff, and (I think, not sure
though) species specific. Typically, a full post exposure treatment for
a human runs about $1000. That is for the immunoglobulin, which provides
immediate protection, and a series of five vaccine shots over 28 days to
get the patients immune system working for long term protection.
Preexposure vaccinations (2 shots of vaccine) cost $100-200 (depends where
you go and where you get the vaccine from; the doctors fee is a big part
of that.) Typically only people at risk for exposure, such as vets, vet
techs, animal control officers, wildlife rehabbers and the like will
bother with preexposure shots.
I don't think that it would be less expensive for a small pet-remember
that a lot of the cost is labor/processing. I don't know whether rabies
immunoglobulin is stored and available for various species; it *is* done
for distemper.
The 2000 Rabies Compendium
http://www.avma.org/pubhlth/rabcont.html
contains all the recommended procedures for dealing with preventative
measures and post exposure treatment/quarantines for both humans and other
animals. (Note: if you are looking at the vaccine list, please be aware
that the ones marked "live vaccina vector" and "live canary pox vector" are
NOT 'modified live' vaccines, and have ZERO risk of actually causing the
disease. There are NO vaccines produced in the USA that have ANY risk of
*causing* rabies, and that has been the case for over five years.)
Per the 20000 Compendium:
"DOGS, CATS, AND FERRETS Unvaccinated dogs, cats, and ferrets exposed to a
rabid animal should be euthanatized immediately. If the owner is unwilling
to have this done, the animal should be placed in strict isolation for 6
months and vaccinated 1 month before being released. Animals with expired
vaccinations need to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Dogs, cats, and
ferrets that are currently vaccinated should be revaccinated immediately,
kept under the owner's control, and observed for 45 days."
The bottom line here is that you want to vaccinate your pet to protect
it not only from rabies as a preventative measure; it's cheaper and safer
than anything else you can do. If your pet has had adverse reactions to
the rabies vaccine, you should discuss your options with your vet. Other
situations in which you might want to not vaccinate or delay vaccinating
are in very young animals and old/ill/immunosuppressed animals. (Note
that adrenal disease tends to suppress the immune system response so a
vaccination won't result in the same level of protection. I think my vet
said it was because of the steroid production(???)) Again, talk to your
vet.
-Ilena Ayala
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/ilena
[Posted in FML issue 3094]
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