Hi Doctor, My 4 Years Old Son Was Bitten By

Posted on Sun, 1 Mar 2020

Question: Hi Doctor, My 4 years old son was bitten by a rat. I took him to hospital. I asked the doctor about if he need any vaccinations. He said that since my son's Tetanus shot is up to date, he doesn't need one. I asked if we should administer anti-rabies vaccine to him. He said that rats are not known to transmit rabies and it is very rare. So, he decided against rabies prophylaxis. What should I do? Please suggest as I can't sleep of fear.

Answered by Dr. Diptanshu Das (19 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
No reason to panic. Rabies vaccination recommended

Detailed Answer:
Thanks for using the Ask a Doctor service.

I have gone carefully through your query and understand your concern. The doctor is correct in saying that no further tetanus shot is needed since immunisation is up to date. However, rats (or any other mammals) can be possible carriers of rabies. Although rabies transmission from rats is rare, it would perhaps be a good idea to get anti-rabies vaccination (full course) because if affected, rabies is 100% lethal and there is no reason to take a chance.

Although a large number of bacterial infections are possible, I would not insist you to fuss about it. You need not panic. Just wait and watch. In case things do not seem to fall in place, you would have the option to go back to the doctor and they can take it up from there.

Regards

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Nagamani Ng