Can puppies get rabies?

Normally, if we see some cute puppies or kittens outside, we will pick them up. However, we cannot guarantee whether these wild animals outside are carrying rabies virus and will bite people after self-resistance. This cannot be easily ignored. We must first go to the hospital to check whether they are carrying rabies virus and get rabies vaccine for intervention.

Puppies can certainly carry the virus. If the wound is licked, it is considered a level 3 exposure according to the graded treatment principles, and the wound needs to be treated, and rabies passive immunization preparations and then rabies vaccine need to be injected.

It is important to properly treat your wounds yourself. Even if it is delayed for 1-2 days or even 3-4 days, local treatment should not be ignored. If the wound has scabbed, the scab should be removed and treated according to the following method. The doctor should then proceed according to standard procedures.

1. Immediately squeeze the wound to drain the dirty blood containing venom or use a cupping jar to remove the poison, but never suck out the dirty blood from the wound with your mouth.

2. Wash thoroughly with 20% soapy water, then rinse with clean water. The key is the washing method. Because the wound is mostly closed like a valve, it must be opened for flushing. Although it is a bit painful to rinse the wound with tap water, you should endure the pain and rinse it carefully to prevent infection as much as possible. Then use 2%-3% iodine or 75% alcohol for local disinfection.

3. In principle, local wounds should not be sutured, bandaged, or coated with ointment or powder to facilitate wound detoxification. If the wound involves the head or face, or is large and deep, or involves a large blood vessel and requires suture or bandaging, it should be sutured after antiserum treatment, without obstructing drainage and ensuring adequate flushing and disinfection.

4. Use tetanus antitoxin and other anti-infective treatments at the same time to control infections other than rabies, but the injection site should be staggered with the injection site of anti-rabies virus serum and rabies vaccine.

In principle, the earlier the rabies vaccine is administered, the better the effect, and it is best to be injected within 24 hours. However, if the vaccine is injected more than 24 hours ago, as long as the person has not become ill before the vaccine takes effect, that is, before the vaccine stimulates the body to produce sufficient immunity, the vaccine will be effective, but the effect may not be good. For people who have been exposed for a long time and have not been vaccinated against rabies for various reasons, as long as they can get the vaccine, they should be given a booster shot as soon as possible, just like those who have just been exposed, in order to make the vaccine work before the disease occurs. At this time, the dose of the previous one or two injections should be doubled. This should include the use of rabies immune globulin when necessary.