Rabies - keeping pets and livestock safe

[Folly's place]

Why aren't we all vaccinated? I have no idea! Vaccines for pets, and farm animals, are very inexpensive and work very well. Human vaccines are insanely more expensive, and also work very well. WHY do they cost so much? Because they can?
It's recommended that veterinarians and others who work with animals be vaccinated, and keep them up to date, depending on titers. This year when I went for a booster, because my titer was low (nobody knows what that actually means, BTW), it was a royal pain, and cost $309 at public health, for one dose of vaccine. Stupid!
On a similar topic, we vaccinate horses for Eastern, Western, and West Nile Encephalitis every year. Also dogs for Leptospirosis. There's more, but you get what I'm saying; we have none of these vaccines for humans. Makes sense, right?
Mary

 

[HeyHo]

You're right, it makes no sense whatsoever. But there MUST be some sort of public policy reason? Right? Is it just a matter of percentages and risks? Or that it costs so much more to get human testing to secure FDA approval?

 

[Folly's place]

So true! No way would people be challenged with live virus to see if they are protected or not. However, with rabies vaccine, we have lots of data on it's safety and efficacy.
Mary

 

[HeyHo]

Exactly! This has been around a long time and is WELL understood. I just can't seem to understand why I shouldn't be worried. And, believe me, I want to understand. I want to not cringe every time I see a raccoon or possum in the neighborhood or coyote tracks in the mud.

 

[Folly's place]

Just don't play with the wildlife!
Mary

 

[HeyHo]

Haha, OK will do!

 

[ThracianHorse]

The part about why people aren't vaccinated is two-fold.

One, the vaccine for humans is expensive to make. It's efficiency is really good, but it only has a super-good rate if, and only if you got it before being bitten by a rabid animal. As a wildlife biologist, it was required for me to have in order to do things like mist-net bats, or work with fisher/marten. If you have to get treated post bite and you don't have the vaccine, you are racing the clock to get the rabies titers into you before the disease begins to take it's toll, which is why they say treatment is not 100%. If you seek treatment IMMEDIATELY (As in, drop what you are doing and get the hell to a hospital) your chances are much improved. Some people wait a day or two because they don't think it's a big deal. WIth a disease that has a 100% fatality rate... yes, it's kind of a big -censored- deal. When I was vaccinated, it was a $1200 shot, and my insurance (har. What insurance?) would not cover it.

Two, it isn't commonly administered to people because as a general rule, we vaccinate most of the animals we have contact with because the animal version is cheap, and easy to administer. No reason to vaccinate people if the common vectors around them are vaccinated. What is frightening, is the uptick of people believing in the antivaxx-mumbo-jumbo that are now not getting their dogs vaccinated. It's all fun and games until someone vectors rabies with their carelessness. We also have people treating wildlife like pets, and thinking it's a good idea to keep things like skunks as pets. Evidence seems to indicate the rabies vaccine does not work very well on skunks, the last time I looked at the issue.

Care for your animals? Get them vaccinated against rabies. All mammals are susceptible. Furthermore, if you kill an animal you suspect is rabid (do a body-shot, don't destroy the head), you need to call animal control so they can test it. A lot of rabid animals get the SSS treatment, so a lot of rabies cases go unreported.

 

[Sue Gremlin]

I am vaccinated, and my cats are all vaccinated. My husband is on his own if a rabid bat gets into the house.
Kidding!
I am vaccinated because of my profession. In school, they made us watch a video showing the progression of rabies in a person, and that was burned into my brain.
Vaccination is very very important.

 

[Folly's place]

It's amazing, not in a good way, how many people don't have their cats vaccinated! Right now, more cats than dogs test positive for rabies, because of this idiocy.
I talked to a veterinarian who had a pet practice in Ohio in the 1950's, and one Monday morning he had THREE rabid dogs in his waiting room!!!
It can be like pushing rocks uphill to get people to vaccinate their animals, and children, and it's insane.
Mary

 

[HeyHo]

Hard to imagine! And all I want is to be vaccinated so I don't have to worry about it if something ever happens to my cutie hens. But I have a regular desk job where rabies isn't a concern. So I guess I'll just have to be careful and if anything ever happens, I'll have to be an advocate for myself.

Thank you all for the information. I always feel better knowing more ... like what is SSS treatment? And what are the side effects of getting vaccinated? What professions require it?