Dogs and cats are vaccinated, do they need rabies shots when they bite?

Rabies, also known as encephalitis caused by rabies virus, is a dangerous infectious disease that affects the nervous system of humans and mammals such as dogs and cats. Rabies virus is usually transmitted from animals to humans through bites, scraping, licking from infected animals.

Dogs and cats are at risk of rabies infection after vaccination

Some people think that dogs and cats that have been vaccinated against rabies when bitten will not cause disease so they subjectively do not get vaccinated. However, there is currently no research to prove that animals that have been vaccinated against rabies will not get rabies. The rabies vaccine for dogs and cats only helps reduce the incidence of rabies. More specifically, the immune effect in dogs and cats after rabies vaccination also depends on many factors such as the quality of the drug, injection technique, the time of injection and the annual repeat injection.

Specifically, in 2016, a study in Thailand recorded 14 vaccinated dogs still have rabies. The only way to prevent rabies is to get vaccinated, if injected at the right time and with the right regimen, it can be prevented. According to information from the Ministry of Health of Vietnam, by early 2024, 22 people had died of rabies and especially these cases often did not receive the vaccine after being bitten by dogs, cats or injected late, injected with insufficient doses, improper indications.

Before the above situation, the Ministry of Health and provincial and district health departments have advised people to actively vaccinate against rabies, because the rabies virus when entering the body will move very quickly to the central nervous system and if it reaches the brain, the mortality rate is 100%. Therefore, when bitten by dogs and cats, people who are bitten should first aid on the spot, then go to the nearest medical facility to be examined and vaccinated.

Fusion Group shares two steps to self-help wounds at home to help bitten people minimize the infection rate below:

First, wash the wound with clean water within 10-15 minutes.

Then, disinfect the wound with iodine or 70% alcohol.

You should note that you should not arbitrarily use dry powders, leaves, sap…. to cover the wound. In addition, you should not seal the wound to avoid aggravating the wound.

Owner actively prevent rabies

Paw Pal hopes that, through the above sharing lines, everyone can actively prevent rabies for themselves as well as prevent the disease for their pets by vaccinating.