Symptoms of Rabies

Rabies Virus Definition

The rabies virus causes a fairly rare disease that primarily affects animals, that disease is rabies. The rabies virus is most often carried and transmitted through the saliva of an infected animal, how ever there have been reported cases where an infection has occurred through an infected animal scratching or sharing food with another animal. The rabies virus can affect all mammals including humans, and is the single most feared disease by most pet owners. Traditionally it is assumed that the rabies virus affects mostly dogs, this is not true and is just the back lash of old yeller. The truth is that the majority of household animals that are infected with the rabies virus are cats.

Cats are most often infected with the rabies virus due to the likelihood of a pet cat roaming outside of a given yard or property, and are much more social animals than many other pets. The average pet “outside” cat comes in contact with at least 2 undomesticated or wild animals everyday, and thus an outside cat can have a severe risk when it comes to rabies. Many times cats contract the rabies virus from local raccoons or skunks, but it is also common for squirrels and chipmunks to carry the disease, as well as most rodents. This type of exposure to the virus is why a pet cat is 10 times more likely to become infected with rabies than a pet dog, although if you cat is a house cat the odds of it contracting the rabies virus drops significantly.

For many animals the rabies virus can be prevented simply by immunizations. Through rabies immunizations house pets, such as cats and dogs, can build up immunity to the virus. This immunity to the rabies virus will make it much less likely for the house pets to be infected, and will give their immune systems a resistance to the disease.

The danger for rabies is very real for people, if a person is infected and does not seek treatment, they will almost certainly diet from the disease. This is why the rabies virus vaccination for animals is mandatory in most of the United States, though only a small percentage of those people infected are infected with the rabies virus through domesticated animals, it is domesticated animal infections that are the least likely to be noticed. Many people who come in contact with and are attacked by a wild animal are well aware of the dangers and risks that are posed from the possibility of rabies, but this is not always the case if the animal is a pet or presumed to be one. This is another reason it is important to seek medical attention when ever attacked by any animal, wild or domesticated, and especially if you think there is a chance the animal could be infected with rabies.

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