Definition
The disease of rabies falls under three potentially lethal zoonoses: if the symptoms of rabies appear, the patient's prognosis is almost certainly inauspicious.
Causes
The person responsible for rabies is an RNA virus, belonging to the Rhabdoviridae family and to the order of the Mononegavirales, which infects domestic and wild animals; since the virus hides in the salivary glands of the infected animal, rabies can be transmitted simply via the bite. The inter-human transmission has not been documented.
Symptoms
- Incubation period: very variable depending on the subject affected (in humans, for example, it varies from 3 to 6 weeks)
- Symptomatic phase (in humans): anxiety, dry throat, headache, low-grade fever, vomiting.
- Last phase: spastic form (alteration of movement, excitement, fear of water), furious form (arrhythmia, delirium, photo / hydrophobia, fever), paralytic form (coma and death by asphyxia)
Information on rabies - drugs for the treatment of anger is not intended to replace the direct relationship between health professional and patient. Always consult your doctor and / or specialist before taking rabies - drugs for the treatment of anger.
drugs
As already pointed out, at the onset of the first symptoms, the probability of death of the subject affected by rabies is very high. For this reason, vaccination (pre and post exposure) is very important, especially recommended for those people at high risk of exposure (eg laboratory personnel, veterinarians and farmers at risk of being infected by animals, subjects in contact with bats ).
- Pre-exposure vaccination (prophylaxis)
Vaccination (inactivated vaccine) consists of three doses of intramuscular vaccine; for those subjects at particular risk of infection further booster vaccines are recommended.
- Post-exposure vaccination
After a bite from a potential or suspected animal suffering from rabies, it is a good idea to immediately take action and take a dose of seroglobulin (gammaglobuline antirabbia) on the day of the infection. Repeat the vaccine after 3-7-15-30 days (for a total of 5 doses in a month). Anti-rabies immunoglobulins should be administered to non-immunized individuals after an animal bite potentially infected with rabies virus.
If the subject had already been vaccinated for rabies, only two vaccinations are necessary, after 3 and 6 days respectively: in this case, it is not essential to inject specific immunoglobulins.
Post-exposure vaccination can also be performed in pregnant women, as no teratogenic effect of the rabies vaccine has been established.
