Temple Dog Bite - Rabies Vaccine

[bina]

vaccines for rabies because as clarkclutch pointed it, rabies is prevalent in thailand. btw, among many mammals and especially grazing mammals like antelopes , it can be up to six months or more before they present with symtoms.

people who work with animals can get prevenattive vaccines and then jsut do blood titre to see when they need next one.

i suspect one of the 'shots' the person received was tetanus as that is usually protocol with animal bites, as is an injection of antibiotics ...

the very first protocol before anything else , with any bite, is to wash wash wash at least 15 minutes with soap and water. basic soap and water, then with polydine/povidine solutions (can soak in weak solution, or percent solution of ointment ... im used to using animal strenghth so we mix with water and soak), then of course decision to go to hospital or whatever.

dogs that are know, owned, and acting normal (biting you over food/interfering with a fight, handling their pups) are most often not candidates for rabies in active stages which , if i go by latest info means they are also not infective unless it has gone to their brain when it starts to become infective. its that inbetween stage that is problematic.

clark were u involved with the bangkok dog rabies vaccine program/testing that ws many years ago? i read about that in some article about rabies in thailand. i understood there was a big problem with the testing coming out false positive etc.

just curious as we have rampant rabies in israel among jackals foxes and packs of feral dogs (adn one donkey in our area, and some antelope types)... and we used to do some program of bait with rabies serum, however all the local dogs also ate the bait (no leash laws in rural areas).every few years the gov't raises the question of 'what to do with the feral dog problem' and the 'rabies' problem. unfortunately neighboring countries like syria and levanon dont have , apparently, rabies vaccine laws , or at least implemenation is lacking, and the animals cross boundries, often in golan/ bordering on syria . the wild boars, foxes, jackals and dogs manage to cross over the fences and no man's land, some get shot, some make it so the golan has a high rabies problem.

we have nationwide rabies vaccinations where the gov't doc comes to vaccineate in the small villages, however, a non neutered dog or bitch costs twice as much so many villages (mainly arab /beduin villages due to lack of education and refusal to castrate male dogs/horses) dont vaccinate as it costs way too much.

we had a rabid fox in our village recently, the dogs caught and killed it.

i always think i should get the preventative vaccine if i ever move to a small village in thailand as i enjoy working with animals mainly dogs and would probably have a lot of contact with them. when i visit for short periods i unfortunately jsut avoid or keep distance.

also, here, the preventative series is only for agri/zookeepers/vets many have told be to do the series in thailand as its cheaper.

the treatment series is quite expensive here.

every few weeks there is a rabies question here. i thought we had a pinned topic about it... i ll try to see /and /or organize one again with sheryl .

the problem is there is a lot of difference in protocol in different countries depending on prevalance of rabies and type of animal.

[ClutchClark]

found more frequently and cheaper in thailand than in 'western ' countries

What is ......."found more frequently and cheaper in thailand than in 'western ' countries" ?

Dotpoom,

It wasn't my post but I can confirm that Rabies medications are substantially cheaper here in Thailand than in the US.

For instance, one dose of Rabipur:

--Thai Red Cross is 350 Bt.

US clinic is12,600 Bt ($390) per injection (dose).

The number of injections required for pre-exposure vaccination is three so you can see the cost is substantially lower in Thailand.

When discussing the RIG immuno-globulin, which is not in abundant supply anywhere due to the methods used to develop it--it actually requires collecting the live antibodies from either horses (ERIG) or humans (HRIG), the costs are much greater.

The amount required is based on body weight, but for a 90 kilo patient in BKK:

-- Thai Red Cross ERIG cost 4,000 Bt.

--US (see note below)

--Thai Red Cross HRIG cost 12,000 Bt.

--US clinic HRIG cost 50,000 - 65,000 Bt ($1600-$2,000 US)

Note: ERIG (equine or horse) is typically not available in the US because there is a higher incidence of allergic reaction AND because the US healthcare system would rather sell more expensive alternatives to boost profits.

Typically the only immunoglobulin available in the US is the more expensive HRIG.

Hope this helps.

[telldem]

[bina]

Since when does it go by weight? Goats sheep ferrets dogs get the same dosage. U open the bottle draw and shoot. The sticker from the bottle goes on the animals card and if its a street cat it gets a notch in its ear so known vaccinated.israel also the vaccine is expensive I kniw of vets who buy overseas in europe nd self administer

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[ClutchClark]

Since when does it go by weight? Goats sheep ferrets dogs get the same dosage. U open the bottle draw and shoot. The sticker from the bottle goes on the animals card and if its a street cat it gets a notch in its ear so known vaccinated.israel also the vaccine is expensive I kniw of vets who buy overseas in europe nd self administer

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Quick response for now:

Vaccine NOT by weight.

Immunoglobulin in event of an exposure is determined by patient body weight.

I can post the formula later if there is interest.

After seeing that video, I guess its a bargain even at US prices ;-(

[Greg Nixon]

There are far too many unfettered dogs in Thailand. On the island of Bali there was a rabies outbreak dogs also in large and unfenced numbers. More than 1000 dogs on Bali had to be shot. The rest were vaccinated. Thailand has the potential for a similar problem. Imagine schools being cancelled for a few months. Imagine fearing to leave your home even for groceries. Imagine the police and others shooting everywhere in Thailand. Imagine the problem of catching dogs to vaccinate them unsure of whether they are infected or not.

Besides of this obvious risk, dogs pose a hazard to traffic. I know of one person killed, one person seriously injured and one other less serious accident caused by dogs wandering onto the road. All this in less than 3 years here. Of course these are only the cases that I know of personally. There are undoubtedly many more.

Health issues here seem to matter little until after the fact. For example dengue fever. For example traffic fatalities. For example black fungus or mold everywhere.

I still choose to stay here because I love the country but I am well aware of the problems and am willing to put myself at risk to lobby for improvements.

[weka]

Thank you all for your helpful replies, particularly Clutch.

We'll continue with the jabs (sorry, scheduled, professionally administered infusion methods of putting vaccine into the subcutaneous region of the deltoid as per exalted first world protocols) just to be safe and so that the hospital can gouge more money from BUPA.

As for the dog. who knows? With nobody willing to take responsibility we have to decide about potential harm it might do to children or elderly in the community and discuss amongst the proactive neighbours and families. The local body elected official whined and fawned that there was nothing he could do but the look on his face when one of the ladies offered "well it's a shame I'm now too scared to go to the temple polling station to vote for you next time then isn't it?" - was priceless

Edited April 21, 2014 by weka

[ClutchClark]

On the island of Bali there was a rabies outbreak dogs also in large and unfenced numbers. More than 1000 dogs on Bali had to be shot. The rest were vaccinated. Thailand has the potential for a similar problem. Imagine schools being cancelled for a few months. Imagine fearing to leave your home even for groceries. Imagine the police and others shooting everywhere in Thailand. Imagine the problem of catching dogs to vaccinate them unsure of whether they are infected or not.

Health issues here seem to matter little until after the fact. For example dengue fever. For example traffic fatalities. For example black fungus or mold everywhere.

Its interesting that Bali's first reported Rabies case was 2007/2008 and there was no record of its existence on the island prior to that. There was no Rabies program and vaccination for the dog population was not practiced prior to 2008 since there was no presence but now Bali has a very successful Rabies mass-vaccination program and cases are much lower than the 2010 peak. Its a real success story but its continued success is always at risk by continued International funding.

It was found that culling efforts actually resulted in a higher incidence of rabid dogs in the remaining population and mass-vaccination programs are a better reaction than culling.

I share your opinion that health issues seem to matter little until after the fact.

It often seems that Asian societies are more "reactive" rather than "proactive" in many aspects of their culture.

I am always trying to understand the historical reasons for this.

Cheers

[bina]

because in some ways asian cultures , while they are groups oreinted, the group is hierarchecal and the individual is responsible for him/her self alone: therefore the driving patterns, etc. possibly the theravada budhist way of seeing things is also very individualistic and not how u are in the community. the theory behind it all is: if u do things right, everything should work out right. and then teh buck stops..

but thats for an other thread.

jsut out of pure curiousity, have there ever been accounts of elephants with rabies?

[notmyself]

jsut out of pure curiousity, have there ever been accounts of elephants with rabies?

http://www.zoosprint.org/ZooPrintJournal/2006/February/2172.pdf