What Animals Can Get Rabies? Check The List Here

Illustration of being bitten by a rabies-hit dog (ANTARA)

YOGYAKARTA Rabies is a viral infection that attacks the nervous array of human centers and hot-blooded animals. Rabies is a zoonosis disease, meaning this disease can be transmitted from animals to humans or vice versa. So, what animals can get rabies?

Quoted from Ai-Care, Saturday, April 28, 2024, the most likely animals transmit rabies to humans, among others:

Adapted from the official website of the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the rabies virus is transmitted through direct contact (for example through skin wounds or lender membranes on the eyes, nose, or mouth) with animal saliva infected with the rabies virus.

In addition, a person can get rabies after being bitten by a crazy animal'. In rare cases, rabies transmission can also occur through a non-bited pathway (stares on the open skin/modes) by animals infected with the rabies virus.

The agent that causes rabies is the virus from the genus lyssa virus and belongs to the family rhabdoviridee. Variants of this virus are very common in various animal species.

After establishing direct contact with rabies-affected animals, this virus will enter the incubation phase for 3 to 8 weeks, where the virus will reproduce on the nerves.

The virus will then walk through the nerves to the central nervous system, namely the brain and spinal cord. At this stage, generally bite marks have recovered. Once it reaches the brain, the virus will spread quickly to brain stems, nerves, and saliva for further transmission.

In the early stages, the characteristics or symptoms of rabies disease in humans can be similar to the flu and last for several days. After that, further symptoms will appear, such as:

Quoted from Ai-Care, until now there has been no effective therapy to treat rabies. Although there are a small number that can survive after being infected with rabies, most of them have died.

Early management and rapid administration of anti-rabies vaccinations or serums can help prevent rabies.

If you are bitten by a rabies-hit animal, you will receive several injection drugs to prevent rabies from infecting you further.

If the dog that bites cannot be found and cannot be examined, it is better to assume the animal has rabies.

The types of drugs given to deal with rabies are:

VAR and SAR are safe vaccines for pregnant women and children. In cases where there is an active rabies infection, with the above symptoms, VAR and SAR have no benefits.

That's information about what animals can catch rabies. Hopefully this article can add insight to the loyal readers of VOI.ID.