Friday, July 18, 2014

Get Vaccination For Rabies Before Traveling To Other Countries

When people plan a trip to other countries, most of them are not aware of the risks of different diseases. Out of our country, we are not immune to every virus or bacteria. We get shots for various diseases in our country in other places; we are not immune to their local viruses.

We can easily catch their viruses and get ill. Rabies is one of these diseases.

It is a disease, which is caused by another animal by scratching or biting. If an infected animal, scratches or bites human, the virus in the saliva of that animal enter human body. Its viruses are rabies virus or Australian bat lyssavirus. It can cause inflammation of the brain. Its symptoms usually starts showing in few weeks to a month. In some cases, it can takes to three months to show the signs. This time depends on the time a virus takes to reach the central nervous system.

Symptoms – Early signs of rabies are fever. Sometimes it is a tingling sensation at exposure. In coming months, symptoms increase to the fear of water, violent movements etc. In many cases, signs like confusion, paralysis, anxiety, or loss of consciousness are also noticed. Patients become unable to move parts of the body and start hallucinating. This disease is fatal. After 2 to 10 days of first symptoms, most of the patients die.

One of its main symptoms is fear of water. This sign comes in the later stages of rabies when patients start showing panic from water. They cannot quench their thirst and start panicking even in the sight of water.

Animal – Animals that can cause this viral disease are cats, dogs, coyotes, squirrels, cattle, bats, foxes, monkeys, raccoons, skunks, wolves, normally yellow mongoose. This virus is usually present in saliva of the infected animal. Human to human transmission is very rare.

Vaccination – Chemist Louis Pasteur and physician Émile Roux developed a medicine for rabies in 1885. The advanced version of this vaccine was developed in 1967.

People who are planning to travel to the risky areas must get the vaccination. In these areas, there is risk to get this disease while there is no proper medical care is available. You must find clinics, which are providing travel vaccinations in NYC (or in the city, you live).

People who will be traveling to other countries or working with animals must get this shot. This vaccine can save them from the risk.