Submitted by EmbarrassedActive4 t3_yh4ue1 in askscience
girnigoe t1_iucfmxk wrote
- it would be expensive
https://news.vin.com/doc/?id=4825471
- immunity from the vaccine only lasts a limited time so it’d have to be redone all the time, like flu shots or like thecrabies shots in animals.
Photo_DVM t1_iudg2ja wrote
The rabies vaccine can provide “adequate” protection for long periods of time. 10+ years in a lot of cases. That being said, what constitutes adequate can not be known conclusively.
Collin_the_doodle t1_iudsn9m wrote
Adequate protection might be okay for the flu, but with the stakes of rabies I don’t think anyone wants to make that gamble.
Photo_DVM t1_iudzezw wrote
I never said anything about gambling. There are established post exposure prophylaxis protocols that should obviously be followed. The post I responded to implied rabies vaccines need to be given like the flu vaccine which is incorrect.
[deleted] t1_iudyxuk wrote
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AbzoluteZ3RO t1_iudzxiq wrote
afaik that's not true at all. Rabies isnt a "few hours" sort of disease unless you got bit on the neck maybe. Most bites are on extremities. If you are bit you have to get the vaccine within a limited amount of time, like a day or 2 (before it spreads to the brain) in order for it to be effective. If you get it too late it's a done deal. Something like 1 person ever has survived untreated rabies (last i read about it 10 years ago maybe more now) and basically that person was put into an induced coma to give the brain a chance to recover from the virus on its own. There's no "treatment" for rabies
Uncynical_Diogenes t1_iueh302 wrote
Nope. By the time you have symptoms you are already dead. There is no treatment at that point; the prognosis is a wooden box.
The treatment for rabies is the vaccine, because that prevents the disease from progressing from the exposure part to the “you’re already dead” part.
Coomb t1_iuejjw9 wrote
You are incorrect. The rabies vaccine is the most effective prophylaxis against rabies. The post exposure protocol involves injecting immunoglobulin into the area around the wound, to bind to rabies virus in the vicinity of the wound, as well as administering the rabies vaccine (which is itself a protocol of multiple shots spaced out in time). It is the immunoglobulin which is the delaying treatment intended to give you more time for your immune system to develop its own antibodies against rabies virus after being stimulated by the vaccine.
Alwayssunnyinarizona t1_iue0e3x wrote
I think you're a little confused. The vaccine is protective and provides outstanding immunity, though it's standard protocol to get a booster if there's suspected exposure.
For those who are unvaccinated when exposed, there's a more involved post-exposure prophylaxis that involves vaccination +/- immunoglobulin injections. That, again, provides excellent protection.
f1newhatever t1_iuergc0 wrote
The vaccine is the treatment here. I don’t know that I’d go out of my way to spread misinformation on this one
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