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Mammals and rabies
Any mammal can catch rabies. A mammal is warm blooded, drinks milk as a baby and does not lay eggs.
Rabies usually likes to attack dogs, but it can attack cats and bats as well.
Other animals like cows, horses and even humans can catch rabies too. Check Animal Facts and see which animals can get rabies.
The signs, or symptoms of rabies in each type of animal can be a little bit different depending on the animal. Also some rabies viruses are worse than others and can make an animal sicker.
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'Furious' and 'dumb' rabies
Usually, the virus will make animals that are carnivores, (meat-eaters) like dogs, act mean. Sometimes a dog with rabies will bite everything in its path. This is what scientists call furious rabies, because the animal is acting crazy.
Other animals like herbivores – which eat only vegetables or grass – may just get sick and fall down. This is called dumb rabies because the animal just lies on the ground and slowly dies. Dogs can get dumb rabies too, like the one pictured (above right). A dog or wild animal with dumb rabies may seem friendly or tame, when it normally wouldn't be.
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Film Feature:
Rabies Infects the Mupanigawa wild dog pack
Rabies has entered the Mupanigawa pack. Award-winning film-maker Kim Wolhuter suspects the virus was introduced to the pack through a dog bite. He documents the symptoms as rabies spreads through the pack with devastating results.
Follow links to see these fascinating films from Wildcast.
Caution: You may find some of these scenes and storyline distressing.
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When there are no signs or symptoms of Rabies
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We've been talking about rabies symptoms - the signs which help you recognize rabies. On our Rabies Virus page, we talk about the incubation period - the time it takes for rabies to 'take over' the immune system.
During this time when the virus is just beginning its attack, an animal may still look healthy, like this raccoon does. There may not be any symptoms, even though the animal is infected and can transmit rabies. That's why it's important to stay away from strays, and know what to do if an animal bites.
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When humans have rabies
Humans, since we can eat vegetables or meat, can have either type of rabies, although usually it is the ‘furious’ type.
When a person has rabies, you can talk to them, but at times they will feel like they have to run, scream or even bite. They will often have trouble with too much saliva and will have to spit it out. Often, they have trouble drinking anything, because the virus tells them ‘no drinking, I want to come out’ and they can choke or gag if they try to drink.
The person will get tired and confused after a while and go into a coma. A coma is something like a deep sleep that is very close to death. Doctors and nurses will try to make the patient feel better. Unfortunately rabies always ‘wins’ when it has reached this stage.
Stopping the symptoms
The only way of stopping the terrible symptoms of rabies in humans is to make the rabies patient as comfortable as possible until the end. Visit the Starfish program at San Lazaro Hospital and see why people with rabies are cared for, and how.
Animals with rabies symptoms in developed countries will usually be euthanized, or 'put down' by a vet or an animal control person. If people are known to have been in contact with the animal, it may be sent for testing to confirm it is positive for rabies.
Unfortunately, this humane method of putting an animal down is not available in every country, because it costs money for these tranquilizers and shots.
In many parts of the world, dogs driven mad by rabies are left to die in a cage. Sometimes dogs are clubbed to death. That's why it's better to prevent rabies altogether, so dogs and other animals are not subjected to this painful end. And preventing rabies is not that difficult.
The simplest, cheapest and best thing to do is vaccinate all the dogs in an area that has rabies. The United States used to have a lot of dog rabies - at least 100 people died from it every year, even in the 20th century. So eventually, the health authorities began to vaccinate all dogs. Today, hardly anyone dies from rabies in America anymore.
We want to do exactly the same thing in the Philippines. By vaccinating all the dogs in the area, island by island, we will make the Philippines rabies free! Join our free Heart a Puppy Club and see if your friends can help you make a difference through our click 2vaccinate program.
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