Multispecies · Neurologic · Public health
Rabies exposure and public health response
Any unexplained progressive neurologic disease in a mammal is rabies until excluded. Management follows the state public health authority, not clinic preference.
Rabies virus travels by retrograde axonal transport to the CNS then centrifugally to salivary glands. Presentations range from furious to paralytic; in cattle, bellowing, tenesmus, and rapid progression are typical. Diagnosis requires direct fluorescent antibody testing on fresh brain tissue, so the animal cannot be tested alive. A healthy dog, cat, or ferret that bites a human is confined and observed for 10 days regardless of vaccination status. For an exposed animal, disposition depends on vaccination status and state law: currently vaccinated animals are boosted and observed; unvaccinated animals face euthanasia or a long strict quarantine. Veterinarians are mandatory reporters and should be preexposure vaccinated with titer monitoring.