Rabies

Rabies (Mad dog disease)

Rabies is a disease of dogs, foxes, wolves, hyaenas and in some places, it is a disease of bats which feed on blood.

The disease is passed to other animals or to people if they are bitten by an animal with rabies. The germs which cause rabies live in the saliva of the sick (rabid) animal. This is a killer disease but not every dog which bites is infected with rabies.

When the rabid animal bites another animal or human, the germs which live in its saliva pass into the body through the wound caused by the bite. The germs travel along the nerves to the brain. The time between the bite and the first appearance of signs that the bitten animal or human has been infected can take from 2 to 10 weeks or more. The time taken depends on the distance of the bite from the brain. If the bite is on the face or head, the bitten animal or human will quickly show signs, but if the bite is on the leg it will take much longer for signs to develop.

General signs of rabies

You should first look for the marks of the bite and discover where and when the animal was bitten. All rabid animals show similar signs in the beginning.

·         they change their normal behaviour and behave very strangely.

·         They stop eating or drinking.

·         Male animal will try to mate (mount) other animals.

·         there is no change in the body temperature.

·         These signs will continue for 3 to 5 days. Then, before it dies, the animal will develop one or the other of two types of the disease:

·         the furious (mad) type of the disease makes the animal aggressive and it will bite anything.

·         The quiet (dumb) type when the animal is quiet and does not move.

Rabies in the dog

Dogs show either of the two types of rabies.

·         a dog with the dumb or quiet type of the disease cannot move. It looks as if it has a bone stuck in the mouth and saliva drips from the mouth.

·         rabies in the dog lasts about 10 days before the animal dies. If the animal does not die after this length of time then it may not be suffering from rabies.

Rabies in sheep, goats and cattle

Rabies is characterised by the animals becoming restless and excited. They may bite themselves and saliva drips from the mouth. The most important sign in cattle is that the animal bellows (calls) very frequently and with strange sound. The animals will become paralysed and die.

Rabies in the horse and camel

The horse will show the furious (mad) type of the disease. It will kick and bite and show signs similar to colic. The animal will die after paralysis of the back legs.

In the camel the signs of rabies are similar to those shown by an animal in the rut.

What to do with a biting dog

Remember that not every dog which bites has rabies. If the dog belongs to somebody ask the owner about its normal behaviour. If the dog is showing signs of rabies you must inform your veterinary officer immediately. The dog must be shot and if it has bitten anybody, they must be taken to a hospital immediately for vaccination.

Control of rabies

Dogs in your community can be vaccinated against rabies. You should ask your veterinary service about vaccination against rabies. If there is an outbreak of rabies, the livestock in your community can be vaccinated too.

Treatment (ethnovet practices) :

Leaves of chirchra (Achyranthes aspera) 100gm and onion 50 gm are ground well and smeared over the bitten place. The extract of these ingredients is administered orally twice in a day.