Where to get rabies shots

Pregnant women are advised to have the rabies vaccine if the risk of exposure to rabies is thought to be high and there's limited access to medical care. Use the TravelHealthPro website to find out if there's a risk of rabies in the country you're travelling to. Vaccination is also recommended for anyone at risk of being exposed to rabies through their job paid or voluntary , such as:.

If you think this applies to you, speak to your employer or occupational health provider. If you regularly handle bats in a voluntary role, speak to a GP about the rabies vaccine. You'll usually have to pay for the rabies vaccine if you need it for protection while travelling. The vaccine course involves 3 doses. If you need the vaccine because there's a risk you could be exposed to rabies through your job, your employer should be able to provide it for you free of charge.

Rabies is mainly a disease of animals. Humans get rabies when they are bitten or scratched by infected animals. Rabies infects the central nervous system. After infection with rabies, at first there might not be any symptoms. Weeks or even months after a bite, rabies can cause general weakness or discomfort, fever, or headache. As the disease progresses, the person may experience delirium, abnormal behavior, hallucinations, hydrophobia fear of water , and insomnia. If a person does not receive appropriate medical care after an exposure, human rabies is almost always fatal.

Rabies can be prevented by vaccinating pets, staying away from wildlife, and seeking medical care after potential exposures and before symptoms start. Rabies vaccine is given to people at high risk of rabies to protect them if they are exposed. People at high risk of exposure to rabies should be offered pre-exposure rabies vaccination, including:.

For pre-exposure protection, 3 doses of rabies vaccine are recommended. People who may be repeatedly exposed to rabies virus should receive periodic testing for immunity, and booster doses might be necessary. Your health care provider can give you more details. Rabies vaccine can prevent rabies if given to a person after they have had an exposure. Anyone who has been bitten by an animal suspected to have rabies, or who otherwise may have been exposed to rabies, should clean the wound and see a health care provider immediately regardless of vaccination status.

If the animal is a healthy domestic dog, cat, or ferret it should be confined and held for observation for 10 days. A licensed veterinarian should examine the animal at the beginning and end of the day observation period. If the animal develops symptoms suggestive of rabies, it should be humanely destroyed and the brain sent for testing.

If the animal is healthy at the end of the day period, then no rabies exposure occurred and the person bitten will not need rabies vaccination. If the animal is not a domestic dog, cat or ferret, it should be captured, humanely destroyed and the brain sent for rabies testing. If the animal is a domesticated farm animal cow, horse, etc. Confinement in North Dakota, as it pertains to rabies, means separation of an animal from humans other than the owner, caretaker, a member of the owner's family or the caretaker's employees and from other animals, by means of a building, cage, fence, pen or other secure enclosure that restricts the animal's movement within definite boundaries and prevents the animal from exiting the enclosure.

Studies have shown that dogs, cats, and ferrets only shed the rabies virus in their saliva for a short period of time usually 4 to 5 days before they develop symptoms. If the animal has not developed symptoms by the tenth day after the exposure then the animal would not have been shedding the virus at the time of the exposure.

Only domestic dogs, cats, and ferrets have been studied enough to determine with certainty the period of viral shedding. Although this period of viral shedding may be similar for other species of animals, without more studies, there is too much uncertainty and too great of risk for error.

If you have been bitten or otherwise exposed to the saliva of an animal that is not available for observation or testing, contact your physician, local public health unit or state public health department and local law enforcement.

If it was a domestic dog, cat, or ferret, try to locate the animal or the owner of the animal. If the animal cannot be located, speak with your physician, as you may need to start preventive treatment for rabies which will include the rabies vaccine.

Yes, the only proven test is to examine the brain for the rabies virus. Blood tests have proven not to be reliable. Because rabies is so serious, the test needs to be as accurate and reliable as possible.

In situations where the owner refuses to have an animal evaluated for rabies, you should contact local law enforcement officials. Vaccinate your domestic dog, cat, or ferret and be sure to keep the animal's vaccinations up-to-date. For more information on each state's vaccination laws, please see the American Veterinary Medical Association website. Report stray, sick, and injured animals to local animal control authorities or law enforcement officials.

Although wolves may be raised in captivity, they are still considered wild animals. At this time no vaccines have been approved for wild or hybrid animals. Although some zoos vaccinate their animals for rabies, this is only done to try to protect the animals from rabies. A wild or hybrid animal that bites a person should be humanely destroyed and the brain submitted for rabies testing.

If the animal is a valuable specimen at a zoo, for example then rabies shots can be given to the exposed person instead of destroying the animal. If the animal that bit your pet can be captured, have the animal's brain tested for rabies. If the test is negative for rabies and your pet has not been vaccinated, you should vaccinate your pet immediately. If the biting animal tested positive for rabies and the pet is current on its rabies vaccination, the pet should be given a booster vaccine immediately.

The pet should be kept under the owner's control and observed for 45 days. If the biting animal tested positive for rabies and your pet has never been vaccinated, the recommendation is to put the pet down. If you are unwilling to euthanize the pet, it must be vaccinated as soon as possible and quarantined for 4 dogs and cats or 6 ferrets months. If the biting animal tested positive for rabies and the pet is NOT current on its rabies vaccination i.

If the animal cannot be captured, assume it is rabid and proceed as described above. Although there may have been skunk saliva on the dog, the risk of an actual exposure is very low. The saliva has to enter an open wound or get onto mucous membranes.

If this did not happen, there was no rabies exposure. Contact Us Today! Schedule A Rabies Vaccination. Online Booking Options.

What Is Rabies? Rabies is a virus transmitted by infected animals. The majority of cases in the United States are from wild animals.

But, some developing countries see rabies spread by strays and even domestic animals. The virus is almost always fatal once symptoms are present. To schedule a rabies vaccination appointment at your local Passport Health, call or book online now. Rabies spreads when infected saliva enters the bloodstream. Bites are the most common vector. Only mammals can be infected with the rabies virus. This means birds, insects and reptiles are immune to infection.

The CDC has found some animals to pose a higher risk than others. Be sure to take extra precautions if coming in contact with:. Several species of bats spread the virus. These species are found throughout the globe. If you plan on staying in a country with an elevated risk of rabies for more than two weeks, vaccination is recommended.