A Dog Bit Me 2 Nights Ago

[Ling Kae]

2 nights ago I was walking home at around 2 AM in Pattaya and a small dog snuck up behind me and bit me just above the ankle. It was only a light bite and probably only went into the skin 1 millimeter or so. A couple of drops of blood came out and that was it. I got home washed it and put some betadine on it and now there is no problem and only a minor sore.

The dog was not mangy or frothing from the mouth and looked in reasonable health but I don’t know whose dog it was. If anything the dog was cheeky as it just snuck up and took a small bite then ran away.

My partner is saying I should go to the Doctor and get a series of shots and stuff whilst my friends just laugh and think it is nothing.

Should I be worried? What is your opinion?

[ajannick]

Better safe than sorry, I far as I am aware you may have to have a series of about 3 injections and will cost you around 2000-3000 baht.

Not sure if there is a time limit on this but I would go asap!

Nick.

[Ling Kae]

Is there a lot of rabies in Pattaya animals? I am just a bit concerned about injectiing the dead rabies virus into my body. From what I have read that is what they do and that kills the virus, I think.

[Jai Dee]

Topic moved to Health Forum.

/Moved.

[lopburi3]

Don't ever take a chance on a dog or monkey bite. Get the shots.

[Stephen Cleary]

Absolutely, better to be safe than sorry. The full injection set is four or five times, over a month period.

If you had gone back the next morning and found the thing had a 'master' you then could have claimed the cost of the injections. When i got bit a few months ago, i had the owner pay - no probs. I went to a government hospital but one shot still costs around 500baht. If you go to a private one though, you can double the price - rabies shots are not cheap.

Rabies usually kills the dog within 10 days so in theory you don't have to take the full course (if you know that it is still alive that is!)

If you do the full course however, you will be vaccinated against Rabies for any further bites.

The doctor i spoke to said that around one hundred people die of Rabies a year in Thailand, so get yourself down that hospital quick. Remember, this disease is brutally fatal.

[kankaroo]

GET THE INJECTIONS NOW!

Rabies is incurable once manifested in the body and the death is horrendous.

[TerryLH]

"If you do the full course however, you will be vaccinated against Rabies for any further bites."

This isn't exactly true. Some people do build up some immunity, but they would still need to take a booster shot in case of exposure. Many people do not gain any immunity. Some do, but for a short duration.

[DFCarlson]

Don't ever take a chance on a dog or monkey bite. Get the shots.

Just imagine... what do you think that dog could have had in its mouth just before it bit you??

[taxout]

The vaccine needs about a week before it takes effect and starts to protect you.

If you haven't had the vaccine before being bit -- and I gather you haven't -- then you normally also need a shot of something called HRIG (human rabies immunoglobulin). HRIG kicks in immediately and covers you till the vaccine starts taking effect.

HRIG can be expensive, especially when imported, and not too many hospitals stock it. It is available at the Thai Red Cross Rabies Clinic in Bangkok, which manufactures their own HRIG; the cost will probably be about US$100, which is a small fraction of the cost of imported HRIG.

If the skin has been broken, then you need medical attention at once. Do not wait.

Read this if you need to be scared into action ("she was walking in the street when a puppy on a lead nipped her on the left leg. There was a slight graze, which she wiped with a tissue, but she did not seek further medical help . . . ."):

http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/331/7515/501

[Heng]

One of the more common 'courses' here is 3 shots of Verorab for rabies and 3 tetanus shots (which my brother in law who is a physician says you might not really need if you are up to date, but they always recommend it for an extra safety margin... the same for anyone undergoing major surgery), ...but if you don't mind shots, you may as well. The rabies course is 3 shots in 7 days and 3 shots over 6 months for tetanus.

enjoy!

[AlexLah]

What a bunch of BS is told here.

Yes, do you know how an infected pet looks like and react when they have Rabies?

[taxout]

"Animals infected with rabies may not show obvious symptoms but still may transmit the disease."

http://www.dsf.health.state.pa.us/health/c...p;pp=12&n=1

Given the deadly seriousness of rabies, it's irresponsible to post inaccurate information here.

[dee123]

absolutely only one decision to be made=go to see a doctor now!

[Jingthing]

I once visited a poor village in the Philippines and a cat licked my foot. That even freaked me out. If bitten at all, there is absolutely no question but to go to the hospital. Of course, rabies is out there.

[bina]

standard procedure:

wash bitten area for at least 15 minutes and scrub hard with soap and running water;

get tetanus if not updated within 7-10 yrs

two days is already almost too long to wait so try to locate the dog

rabies can stay dormant for up to six months or more (in ruminants) but also in carnivores does not necessarily manifest within ten days nor does it always manifest as frothing at the mouth it depends on the stage

based on the basic behavior of a healthy normal small dog, a nip on the ankle is normal routine behavior as apposed to 'sick dog' behavior

however, rabies is common in thailand and the thai rabies clinics can advise u best.

i'd worry more about infection since bite wounds infect and last a long time compared to the seriousness of the bite ( same as non poisonous snake bite wounds);

betadine was a good choice...

bina

israel (petting zoo manager and these are our vet's and health ministery regs that i offer here)

forgot to add, if there were any recent reports of rabid animals in that area u were bitten in, then full positive for worrying and seek medical help

Edited August 10, 2007 by bina

[Mai Krap]

Get the rabies shots now!

There is no point to arguing this but most likely if you dont get the shots nothing will happen, But what if? Not one single case of rabies has ever been cured, death is the only result. You can also transfer rabies to your sexual partners and kill them to. What you need is a good physician to explain this " Don't take my word for it" and yes a tetanus shot is also warranted from even a small dog bite if you have no idea of your last shot.

[dee123]

I used to have a pet dog in Thailand,(back was his name)....I don't know why he was called back, but my wifes daughter named him I think,....he was a cute puppy, a bit of a coward, was regularly beaten up by the local heirarcy of dogs and used to chase after us in our samlor right into town centre until we got to the market,.....anyway....... he had this vicious gash on his private parts for weeks and weeks,even months,.....we bought some anti biotic powder which my wife administered,....but it never really healed.....then one day as I was doing my garden or something he appeared,looking a bit thin and frail.....he then proceeded to run around in circles then running away,.....I am sure I saw white foam coming from his mouth.....We never saw him again!......

[bina]

...white foam

distemper causes neurological symptoms similar to rabies and is super common in thailand among pups from what i understand from elfe and nov. rain (dog rescue people)...

[dee123]

my wife thought the neighbours done him in!

[Ling Kae]

I went to see my local Doctor here. He spent half an hour with me telling me all about rabies so I decided to get the shots. I need 5 shots in total over a period of a Month, my second one will be on Monday. He said that as I can not identify/observe the animal that I should be treated as a case like being bitten by a wild animal in the jungle, that is the 5 shots course.

He said if it was his daughter he would do exactly the same thing for her as what he was doing for me, so I am happy I decided to take the shots after all.

The original bite is small and is healing well, no infections so that part is ok. Thank you all for your contributions here, I am happy that I went to see the Doctor.

[lopburi3]

This is not a country where rabies is uncommon. If you are bitten get treatment.

The below is from World Small Animal Veterinary Association World Congress Proceedings, 2003

Rabies is a major public health problem in most of the world. Human deaths exceed 35,000-50,000 cases [1]. In Thailand, the disease is endemic with approximately 50 human deaths per year [2]. Dogs are the primary reservoir of rabies. Most human deaths are due to rabid dogs. In addition, most human postexposure treatments are due to dogs, both in Thailand and in the world

Below published in 1998 and located http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?c...pt=AbstractPlus

The Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute, Thai Red Cross and WHO Collaborating Centre for Research in Rabies, Bangkok.

The prevalence of canine and human rabies in Thailand has decreased significantly during the last decade. This has been associated with an increasing number of human post-exposure treatments. Educational efforts, mass vaccination of dogs and cats and the use of safe and effective vaccines have all made an impact. The proportion of fluorescent antibody positive dogs, among those examined for rabies averaged 54% indicating that rabies is still a major public health threat. Canine rabies vaccination is not usually performed in animals < 3 months old. However, this study revealed that 14% of rabid dogs were < 3 months old and 42% were < or = 6 months old. This is the age group most likely to interact with humans and other dogs. Our study also supports the World Health Organization's recommendation that observing suspected rabid dogs for 10 days is an adequate and safe practice.