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Cause:
Rabies virus.
Illness and treatment:
Initial
neurologic symptoms include abnormal skin sensation or pain,
often affecting the site of the bite, and subtle personality
changes. Later neurologic symptoms include seizures, excess
salivation, fear of water, delirium, agitation, and
paralysis. Symptomatic illness is considered fatal;
experimental treatment saved one Wisconsin case.
Sources:
In Washington, bats are the primary reservoir. Skunks,
raccoons and foxes are additional reservoirs in this
country. In some countries, dogs and other carnivores are
the main reservoirs. Rabies is transmitted when saliva or
brain tissue contaminates the skin or mucosa. Person to
person transmission is documented only by tissue/organ
transplantation.
Prevention:
Obtain post-exposure prophylaxis for exposure to a rabid or
potentially rabid animal. Certain high risk groups should
have pre-exposure vaccination. Keep vaccinations up-to-date
for all dogs, cats and ferrets, avoid contact with
unfamiliar animals, and keep bats out of the home.
Recent Washington trends:
Two human cases due to infection with the bat rabies variant
of rabies virus were reported in the past 50 years, one in
1995 and one in 1997.
2008:
No human rabies cases were
reported. Rabies is almost invariably fatal despite
treatment; post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) should be considered
for exposed individuals.
Purpose of Reporting and
Surveillance
- To assist in the diagnosis of human cases of rabies.
- To identify persons potentially exposed to a human
rabies patient and provide counseling about postexposure
prophylaxis (PEP).
- To offer PEP to others
who may have been exposed to the same source as the patient.
Legal Reporting Requirements
- Health care providers: immediately notifiable to
local health jurisdiction.
- Hospitals:
immediately notifiable to local health jurisdiction.
- Laboratories:
immediately notifiable to local health jurisdiction;
specimen submission required.
- Local
health jurisdiction: notifiable to DOH Communicable
Disease Epidemiology Section (CDES) within 7 days of
case investigation completion or summary information
required within 21 days.
Last
update
November 2009 |
