Rabies in Humans: Current recommendations on vaccination

#vaccinationschedule The agent responsible for rabies is the Rhabdovirus of the gener Lyssavirus. It is found in more than 150 countries and on all continents, mainly affecting Asia and Africa.
The mechanism of transmission of rabies virus is by contact with saliva of an infected animal, through a bite, scratch, wound or contact with mucous membranes. The incubation period varies between 2 to 8 weeks, with an average of 45 days.
To date it is not possible to diagnose human rabies prior to the onset of symptoms. Once these appear, the disease shows fatality figures close to 100%.

RABIES VACCINATION:

The administration of the vaccine has the following features:

Intramuscularly administration in deltoids or on the anterolateral face of the thigh
5-dose scheme: days 0 -3 — 7 -14 and 28 post exposure.
The first three doses should be completed within 1 week.
If vaccination is started late (i.e. more than 7 days from exposure) or when exposure to an animal identified as rabid is massive, you can use the 4-dose scheme: 2 doses on day 0, 1 dose on day 7 and 2 doses on day 21.

The indication of vaccination depends on the severity of the exposure, the clinical characteristics of the animal, the possibility of observation of the animal and the results of the rabies laboratory.