Rabies: vaccinate, and what to do after a bite
Rabies kills animals and people once signs appear. Vaccines prevent it, and quick action after a bite saves lives.
General guidance, awaiting review by a Guyanese vet. Always ask a vet about your own animal.
Rabies is a virus that attacks the brain. Once signs appear it is almost always fatal, in animals and in people. It spreads in saliva, mostly through bites, and sometimes through scratches or saliva in a cut, the eyes or the mouth.
Vampire bats in the interior
In the interior and along the rivers, vampire bats can carry rabies. They bite livestock, dogs and sometimes people, usually at night while they sleep, and the small bite is easy to miss.
- Keep dogs, cats and other animals indoors or in a closed pen at night where you can.
- Sleep under a bed net, and close gaps in walls and roofs where bats get in.
- Never pick up a bat with bare hands, alive or dead.
- Tell the health centre about any bat bite, on a person or an animal.
Vaccinate
Vaccinating dogs and cats protects them and the people around them. Ask your vet when your puppy or kitten should have the rabies vaccine and how often to repeat it, and keep the vaccination card safe. See vaccines.
Signs in an animal
A sudden change in behaviour: unusual aggression, or a wild animal that is strangely tame. Drooling, trouble swallowing, a dropped jaw, wobbling, or weakness that spreads. Do not handle an animal that might have rabies.
If a person is bitten or scratched
- Wash the wound straight away with soap and plenty of running water for 15 minutes.
- Go to a hospital or health centre the same day, even if the wound is small and even if it was a bat. Treatment after a bite works if it starts early. Do not wait for signs.
- Tell them what bit you and where. If the animal is someone’s pet, get the owner’s details.
If your pet is bitten
- Wear gloves or use a cloth if you touch the wound, and wash your hands.
- Call your vet the same day. Your pet may need a booster, and the vet will tell you what else to do.
- If an animal has bitten someone, don’t kill it or let it go. Keep it confined safely and ask a vet or the health centre what to do, as it may need to be watched for a while.