How to prevent rabies ?

Rabies is a viral infection of the brain that causes irritation and inflammation of the brain and spinal cord.


CAUSE
The reason is the rabies virus. The rabies virus present in the saliva of infected animals. These animals pass the infection to other animals and humans through the bite or sometimes through sycophancy. The virus will move from its place entry through the nerves to the spinal cord and brain, where they multiply. Furthermore, the virus will move back through the nerves to the salivary glands and into the saliva.

Many animals can transmit rabies to humans. The most common source of rabies are dogs, other animals can also be a source of transmission of rabies are cats, bats, raccoons, skunks, foxes.

Rabies in dogs is still often found in Latin America, Africa and Asia, because not all pets get vaccinated for this disease. Infected animals may have rabies or rabies tame beasts. In the wild rabies, animals affected was restless and violent, then become paralyzed and die. In benign rabies, paralysis has occurred since the beginning of local or total paralysis.

Although very, very rarely, rabies can be transmitted through inhalation of contaminated air. It has been reported 2 cases that occurred in the explorers who breathe the air inside the cave where many bats.


SYMPTOMS
Symptoms usually begin to occur within 30-50 days after infection, but the incubation period varies from 10 days to more than 1 year. The incubation period is usually the shortest of the person who was bitten on the head or a closed place or when the bite shorts found in many places.

At 20% of patients, rabies begins with paralysis of the lower limbs are spread throughout the body. But the disease usually begins with a short period of mental depression, anxiety, malaise and fever. Unrest will rise to unbridled joy and people will salivate.

Muscle spasms of the throat and vocal cords can feel excruciating pain. Seizures are caused by a disturbance of brain regions that regulate the process of swallowing and breathing. A light breeze and trying to drink water can cause these spasms. Therefore people with rabies can not drink. Because of this, the disease is sometimes also called hidrofobia (fear of water).


Diagnosis
If someone is bitten by an animal, the animal that bit should be supervised. Immunofluoresensi (fluorescence antibody tests) are performed on these animals could indicate that the animal is suffering from rabies. Skin biopsy, in which the neck skin was taken for examination under a microscope, can usually indicate a virus.


TREATMENT
If it be done the proper precautions, then the person bitten by an animal suffering from rabies will rarely suffer from rabies. People who are bitten by rabbits and rodents (including squirrels, mice) do not require further treatment because the animals are rarely infected with rabies. But when bitten by wild animals (skunks, raccoons, foxes and bats) required further treatment because these animals may be infected with rabies.

The most important precaution is the handling of the bite wound as soon as possible. The bitten area cleaned with soap, stab in the sprayed with soapy water. If the wound has been cleaned, to patients who have never been immunized with rabies vaccine rabies immunoglobulin injections diberkan, where half of the dose injected at the bite site.

If you have never been immunized, then an injection of rabies vaccine given at bitten by rabid animals and on days 3, 7, 14 and 28. Pain and swelling at the injection site usually mild. Rare serious allergic reaction, less than 1% who have a fever after a vaccination. If people ever get the vaccination, the risk of suffering from rabies will be reduced, but the bite should still be cleaned and given 2 doses of vaccine (on days 0 and 2).

Before the discovery of treatment, death usually occurs within 3-10 days. Most patients died of airway obstruction (asphyxia), seizures, fatigue or total paralysis. Although deaths due to rabies once suspected to be unavoidable, but some people are survivors. They moved to intensive care to be supervised for symptoms in the lungs, heart and brain. Rabies vaccine and immunoglobulins appears to be effective if one day the patient shows symptoms of rabies.


PREVENTION
Measures to prevent exposure to rabies virus can be taken before or immediately after exposure. For example, vaccination can be given to people at high risk for exposure to the virus, namely:
- Vet
- Laboratory workers who handle infected animals
- The people who settled or lived more than 30 days in areas where rabies in dogs found
- The bat cave explorers.

Vaccination provides life-long protection. But the antibody levels will decrease, so that people at high risk of further exposure should get booster dose of vaccine every 2 years.