Puppy scratch: Is rabies a risk if it's alive after 2 months?

Correct - if a dog is still alive and not showing any neurologic symptoms 10 days after a bite incident, then you can be certain that it was not carrying rabies in its salivary glands at the time of the bite.

There's never anything wrong for seeking reassurance, particularly with something as serious as rabies. Rabies is transmitted through saliva, so scratches are not a major concern with respect to rabies transmission. That said, it's never wrong to take extra precautions to quarantine for 10 days. The reason the quarantine is 10 days long is that if an animal is infected with rabies and is actively secreting the virus through its saliva, it would be severely neurologically impaired or dead by the end of the 10 day period. At this point, both you and the kitten are in the clear!

The good news is that rabies is transmitted through bites/saliva and not scratches. If Ming was infected and shedding the rabies virus a month ago, then he would have died from the disease by now. Considering all of this, I think you should be safe, but it's best to consult with your physician if you have any further concerns. Below is a link to more information about rabies. https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/index.html I hope that helps and all is well.

Hello. No, you do not need to worry about rabies, but you may need to see your own physician about your scratch if it remains swollen. Max is definitely old enough to receive his rabies shot. Other than this, just watch Max for the next 10 days. If he should become sick or act unwell in any way during this 10 day period, please see your vet immediately for further recommendations. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

If your rabies vaccine is current then you have very little risk. Rabies is transferred via saliva so if there was no bite then highly unlikely. It does have potential risk to get infected if deep enough. Make sure to keep it clean though until it heals

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I am sorry we can not treat people or provide advice regarding people. You need to speak to a human physician regarding YOUR health. If Bini doesn't show any signs of rabies 10 days after she scratched you then you did not get rabies from that incident. She is out of the woods on having rabies 6 months from the vaccine. I wish you the best!

The only way to know if a dog was infected with rabies is to monitor for signs of rabies. The test for rabies uses brain tissue so it can't be done on an alive animal. There is a 15 day window of time from when an animal can transmit rabies until the animal would be showing clinical signs of rabies and then death. If there is no history of a bite wound on the pet dog than the likelihood of rabies is very low. If you ever see any signs of rabies than have him/her examined by a veterinarian. There are other diseases that can be transmitted to humans, like Ringworm, Salmonellosis, Leptospirosis, Campylobacter infection, Giardia infection, Cryptosporidium infection, Roundworms, Hookworms, etc. If your dog was examined by a vet and appears healthy, vaccinated, as well as treated for common intestinal parasites than it is not likely you will get an infection from him/her, especially if you have a normal immune system. Use a monthly heartworm pill that also contains a dewormer, like Heartgard or Interceptor to decrease the chance of your dog getting intestinal parasites in the future.