What if rabid dog saliva gets on my hand and then I touch my face?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! You only need to worry about rabies if you are bitten by an animal whose rabies or vaccine status you don’t know. Since Romeo didn’t bite you, I wouldn’t be concerned. Kisses to Romeo!

Rabies is very common in the united states. Any patient that has Rabies will pass away with in 10 days. The likeliness that a dog in the vet clinic had Rabies is very very rare. However you son will not get Rabies or should be concerned about getting Rabies with this type of exposure. Hope that helps- thanks for using pet coach

Rabies can be transmitted through contact with saliva, so if your dog contracted the virus and was symptomatic there is a small possibility you could get rabies from contact with saliva. If you have reason to think Sunday might be showing signs of rabies you should contact your physician and veterinarian right away.

Usually from the wound the virus travels through the nerves to the central nervous system and salivary glands as well (from where it can then spread and be transmitted). Unless the tongue was injured (so the virus could have travelled to nerves through blood stream), there are basically no chances that infection occurred. Rabies do not resist in the environment for long (max 24 hours usually) time as well.

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.

I am sorry to hear about Danny. He should immediately go to your vet and they should be notified of what has happened. How his case is handled will depend on regulations in your country. In the United States he would immediately get a rabies booster and be placed in a 6 month quarantine at an approved facility. Rabies is fatal in all cases and can be transmitted to people so you do not want to take any chances in these cases and should follow all the recommendations of the authorities. If you were in contact with this dog or touched wounds from this dog you should also notify your own doctor to see if they recommend treatment for yourself based on your encounter.

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. If the dog is up to date on its rabies vaccinations, the chance of you contracting rabies is incredibly low. What we recommend is to quarantine the dog who bit you (or have the owner of the dog quarantine it) for 10 days and monitor the dog for the development of any abnormal neurologic signs. If the dog is completely normal after 10 days from the time you were bit, you are in the clear. If the dog becomes sick at all in that time frame, or if you become sick at all, I recommend contacting your doctor. I hope this is helpful - best of luck!