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Often you can’t tell by looking.

An animal with rabies may stagger or stumble and display unprovoked aggressive behavior or be over-friendly.  Animals with advanced rabies may also foam at the mouth. This is because the rabies virus affects the salivary glands causing hyper-salivation. They may also develop hydrophobia (fear of water).

None of these symptoms are definitive signs that an animal has rabies, and rabid animals may or may not exhibit these signs.

If an animal shows any of these signs, you should contain it to prevent possible exposure either to you, your family, or another animal, and contact your veterinarian or animal health department.

 To confirm an infection, the animal must be euthanized and a brain tissue sample must be tested for the presence of rabies in a reputable laboratory.

Apply first aid, as below. Then you MUST seek medical advice about post exposure prophylaxis as soon as possible.

If you are bitten or scratched by a potentially rabid animal, you must

1. Wash the wound thoroughly with soap and water for at least 15 minutes.
2. Apply ethanol or a similar antiseptic to prevent secondary infection.
3. Seek urgent medical attention. You need to start post-exposure prophylaxis as soon as possible.

If you have already had pre-exposure prophylaxis, you still need further treatment.

Modern vaccines are the only way to prevent the onset of rabies after exposure. Traditional remedies, such as jackfruit gum and chilli powder do not stop the rabies virus.

Please treat any potential exposure to rabies seriously. Once clinical symptoms appear, death is almost inevitable.

The rabies virus is transmitted through saliva or brain/nervous system tissue of an animal infected with rabies. The infectious material then needs to pass into the body, usually through a bite wound, open cuts in skin, or less commonly through mucous membranes such as the mouth or eyes.

A person can only get rabies by coming in contact with these specific excretions and tissues.  Rabies virus becomes noninfectious when it dries out, for example, when infected saliva or other material is exposed to sunlight.

You have not been exposed to rabies if

• the animal doesn't have rabies itself – most dogs do not have rabies

• you have petted or handled an animal

• you have had contact with blood, urine or feces

In extremely rare cases, humans have been infected because they inhaled aerosoled saliva that contained the virus (e.g., in caves with very large bat populations) and through organ transplants from donors with rabies infections.

If you been bitten or scratched by an animal that is unknown to you and/or that appears unwell, you may have been exposed to rabies.

Please take any potential exposure seriously. Thoroughly wash the wound with soap and water and seek urgent medical attention.

Rabies is a viral disease that is transmitted through the saliva or nervous system tissues of an infected mammal to another mammal. The rabies virus infects the central nervous system and causes severely distressing neurological symptoms, disease in the brain, and, ultimately, death.

Rabies is a zoonotic disease, which means that it can pass from other animals to humans. Rabies is the deadliest disease on earth with a 99.9% fatality rate.

Vaccinate pets according to the recommended schedule, and take your pet to the veterinarian for a booster should they get bitten by a potentially rabid animal.  Additionally, spay or neuter your pet to reduce the number of potential strays that are not vaccinated against rabies.  Keeping your pet on a leash when outdoors prevents inadvertent exposure to a rabid wild animal.

Most puppies that bite are exploring the world using their mouths and will interact with people in a playful way, which includes nipping and biting, and do not have rabies. However, all bites from unvaccinated animals living in regions where rabies is endemic should be investigated by a medical expert.

If the puppy has been restricted indoors, walked only on a leash outdoors, and the owner is confident that the puppy has not interacted with any wildlife or other dogs, then it is extremely unlikely that the puppy is infected with the rabies virus. A person bitten by an unvaccinated puppy that has been roaming outdoors or exposed to other animals may be at risk for the rabies virus and should seek medical advice.  Even puppies that have been contained in a fenced-in backyard, may still have been exposed to high risk wildlife such as skunks, coyotes, fox, raccoons and bats, and a bite from an unvaccinated puppy is a considered a risk for contracting the disease if the puppy has not been in a restricted environment.