Rabies vaccinations

Rabies is a deadly viral disease of warm-blooded animals and humans. Rabies is ubiquitous, with the exception of some countries, which are recognized as free from the disease due to strict quarantine measures and vaccination of wild animals that carry this disease.

Rabies is an enzootic disease for Russia, which means that natural foci of this disease are constantly preserved on the territory of the country.

That is why in our country rabies vaccination for domestic dogs and cats is mandatory and must be repeated annually.

How is rabies transmitted?

The sources of the rabies virus are wild animals: foxes, raccoons, badgers, wolves, jackals. In the conditions of the city, stray dogs and cats are carriers of the disease. Therefore, one should not think that rabies infection is possible only in the wild, it often happens in big cities. The main source of infection for humans is sick animals.

Different species of animals have different susceptibility to infection with the rabies virus – cats are considered very susceptible to infection with this disease (along with foxes and raccoons).

Symptoms of the disease

The rabies virus severely affects the nervous system, hence the clinical picture of the disease: unusual behavior (change in characteristic behavior), aggression, excessive excitability, impaired coordination of movements, perverse appetite, light-noise-hydrophobia, muscle spasms and paralysis, inability to eat. It all ends with convulsions, paralysis, coma and death.

Cats are characterized by an aggressive form of rabies. Moreover, the rabies virus begins to be excreted in the saliva of a sick animal three days before the onset of clinical symptoms. There is an observation that a cat with rabies in the aggressive stage of the disease will attack all animals and people that fall into its field of vision.

Treatment and prevention

To date, there is no effective specific treatment for rabies, the disease always ends in the death of an animal or person. The only protection is preventive vaccination.

All domestic cats should be vaccinated against rabies from 3 months of age. The vaccine is administered once at the age of 12 weeks, revaccination is carried out annually. Do not take your pet to the country if he has not been vaccinated against rabies.

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For a more detailed study of the problem, we recommend contacting a specialist.

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22 2017 June

Updated: July 6, 2018