I was down at the beach in Chonbury for a few weeks recently and I sat under the beach umbrella where the thai folk had a nice puppy (maybe 4 months old). Its a puppy they purchased off a breeder - not a puppy from a litter of soi dogs.

I was playing with it each day and being a puppy it was biting my hand etc each day. I completely did not think about the Rabies risk. Leading to the question.... if the puppy has only been biting kind of strong but no blood drawn then is this risk free?

In Scotland 2004 (i think) I had a course of rabies shots over a few weeks. Then last November 2011 I had a booster rabies shot in oz.

Can anyone who is knowledgeable about this please make comment. Or should I go to one of the big hospitals for advice.

many thanks

Any contact with the saliva from an infected animal can transmit rabies; skin breaks may be too small to see but can still transmit the virus.

Having had the vaccine as well as a booster should be adequate protection but immune status could be confirmed with a blood test.

The vaccine doesnt give u immunity to rabies if u get bitten. You need to have an additional 2 shots compared to 5 shots if u havent previously had the vaccine.

The vaccine does provide protection. The regime the previous poster is referring to is the post exposure one for non-vaccinated persons. This involves immune globuline (passive protection) as well as the vaccine but in more doses than required for non-exposure (routine) vaccination.

Having had the vaccinations does provide some protection, but not enough to completely rule out the risk of infection. That's why post exposure injections are recommended, as they provide 100% protection if given shortly after exposure.

It's basically up to the OP to decide what to do. Personally I wouldn't go for the post exposure injections if it were me since there was no actual bite plus the fact that the puppy was so young that it was unlikely to have had time to be exposed to the disease as well as develop symptoms (I'm pretty sure rabies is only transmittable in the final and symptomatic fase). But there are no guarantees.

Sophon

I've seen people die of rabies. It is awful.

Don't take even a small risk.

Since there doesn't seem to be any reason not to get the shots, that would be the prudent step. However, if your contact was weeks ago the dog would be showing symptoms of rabies and, in fact, would almost certainly be dead by now, if he was infected. Are you still in contact with the owners of the dog, even if indirectly?

There seems to be a miss mash of information here.

Having a course of pre-exposure rabies vaccine and a recent booster may give positive immune status but the subsequent 1 or 2 post exposure shots are still required.

Dogs younger than 6 months have not had any rabies vaccination and are of high risk in Thailand.

Besides infection from bites, broken skin etc, infection from saliva contact from infected dogs on mucous membranes (eyes mouth nose) is also a high risk.

If the dog was infected with rabies and able to infect others it would die within 10 days.

Infection may present itself even after 5 years from contact.

Take Sheryl's advice.

Go and see your doctor.

Sanuk

the puppy was bought from a breeder which means that theoretically the bitch (dam) had been vaccinated, which means that as a young pup it should still be protected, also, the pup was with a family, so the chance of it carrying or getting rabies are less then an older dog that is roaming outside and exposed...or as opposed to playing with a pup that was not owned and was more likely exposed to rabies.

btw, rabies can be transferred not just when it is presenting, and in many mammals the 'incubation' period can also be months and not days... although ten days is the usual quarantine 'wait and see' period for small mammals.

after any animal scratch or bite, washing vigorously with soap and running water cleans out the wound and can reduce risk of infection although not prevent contacting rabies.

blood tests can be used to monitor titre levels of rabies vaccine levels for those that are exposed frequently and need to be vaccinated (vets, farm workers).

btw, rabies can be transferred not just when it is presenting, and in many mammals the 'incubation' period can also be months and not days... although ten days is the usual quarantine 'wait and see' period for small mammals.

It is my understanding from all I have read (from official government sites) that animals are not contageous during the incubation period. Rabies can only be transferred during the "symptomatic" period, as the virus is only present in the saliva during this period. But yes, there can be a short period at the beginning of the symptomatic period where the animal shows few or no noticable symptoms, and in rare cases an infected animal will die without showing any clear symptoms of the disease.

Sophon

Im the OP that raised this thread. I decided to go to the hospital and they advised 2 shots. My question is.... does anybody know if the hospitals have a different pre exposure and post exposure vaccine? Or is it the same vaccine?

Pre and post exposure vaccineds are different. they are giving you the 2 post exposure vaccine doses indicated for a person whoi had the pre-exposure vaccine. (Had you not had the pre-exposure vaccine, you would need 5 shots plus immune globulin, which carries some potential risks).

I have experienced a similar situation regarding animal bites and the rabies vaccine.. The GPO Govt Pharmaceutical Organization, will generally, supply the ER. with Rabipur... you can goggle this and find all your information.. Prevention is a bitch but of course better than death.