Business Mirror, a Philippine news website, had a recent article entitled "Rabies: deadlier than ever". That’s a bit like saying Decapitation: now an even worse idea. Rabies isn’t ‘deadlier than ever,’ since it’s hard to get deadlier when the disease is already almost invariably fatal.

Anyway, beyond quibbling about the title, there are some interesting parts to the tragic story.

The article describes the death of a young boy. He was attacked by a dog while playing in his front yard in the Philippines. After the attack, he was taken to the hospital where, while he treated for some large scratches, he was not treated for rabies exposure because there were no bites.

This isn’t too surprising, since it’s an area in which there are some education gaps and misconceptions. The main risk for rabies transmission from dogs is from bites, since the virus is present in high levels in saliva, and bites directly inoculate saliva into the body. Rabies contaminated saliva deposited on intact skin isn’t a risk.  Rabies virus shouldn’t be hanging out on a dogs paws, so it’s easy to see how the transmission risk from scratches might be overlooked. However, during an attack, saliva contamination of the skin and a scratch that breaks the skin can both occur, thereby inoculating rabies virus into the body just like a bite.

Presumably that’s what happened here, because 2 months after the attack, the boy developed rabies. It started with severe itchiness over the site of the scratch, and he was dead two days later.

We can’t play around with rabies. If there’s potential that an animal interaction led to rabies exposure:

  • The animal must be identified and either euthanized so its brain can be tested, or (if a dog or cat) quarantined for 10 days to ensure that it does not exhibit any signs of rabies.
  • If the animal can’t be identified and quarantined or tested (or if it’s positive for rabies), proper post-exposure treatment is required.

More information about rabies can be found on the Worms & Germs Resources – Pets page.