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Today There Was A Dog On The Loose With No
Question: Brief Answer:
extremely low risk
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
rabid dogs are usually either too aggressive or too weak. Licking the skin won't transmit the virus. An open wound is required for the virus to invade the skin. If your wound is not open then you have no risk even if the dog is diseased.
You can check your wound by applying ethanol to it. Ethanol causes pain when it touches bare tissue. If the skin is intact or healed then there is no tissue exposure and no pain.
Watching the animal after the suspected incident is necessary though because sometimes rabies may not be immediately evident. If the animal remains asymptomatic, treatment is not recommended.
Kind Regards,
Dr Panagiotis Zografakis,
Internal Medicine Specialist
extremely low risk
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
rabid dogs are usually either too aggressive or too weak. Licking the skin won't transmit the virus. An open wound is required for the virus to invade the skin. If your wound is not open then you have no risk even if the dog is diseased.
You can check your wound by applying ethanol to it. Ethanol causes pain when it touches bare tissue. If the skin is intact or healed then there is no tissue exposure and no pain.
Watching the animal after the suspected incident is necessary though because sometimes rabies may not be immediately evident. If the animal remains asymptomatic, treatment is not recommended.
Kind Regards,
Dr Panagiotis Zografakis,
Internal Medicine Specialist
Today there was a dog on the loose with no collar. He was very friendly and well trained and looked well groomed. I got out of my car and the small dog jumped on me. No scratches but he did briefly lick my ankle. I have no sign of open wound on ankle however I do have one scabbed over wound. Not sure who’s dog it was but I’m scared now that what if it had rabies and transmitted it to me by licking my ankle?? Do you think I’m at risk at all? Happened in a nice neighborhood but dog had no collar and now I’m scaring myself. I’ve attached a photo of the area where he was licking however I did not feel any scratches. The scratch that I see in the picture I believe is from something else but is it was from the dog am I at risk? There has been no postings of this dog being lost so I believe it’s family has found it and it may have just ran away briefly. If the dog had rabid saliva, it would be in the last stage of rabies and likely be showing symptoms correct?
Thank you for your reply.
So you are also saying the dog is only contagious when rabies infects they XXXXXXX glands which is usually in the last stage of rabies and symptoms would be obvious?
So you are also saying the dog is only contagious when rabies infects they XXXXXXX glands which is usually in the last stage of rabies and symptoms would be obvious?
Also, the dog was outside for about 10 minutes before he came up to me. So in that time even if the dog had say locked his paws and then say scratches me, the virus would have died by then correct? Also in order for me to really be at risk, the dog would have had to lick his paws very soon before the scratch and almost have dripping saliva on his paws that he scratched me with in order to be at risk of infection if the dog was rabid correct?
Brief Answer:
low risk...
Detailed Answer:
You're welcome!
I've already answered the first question, but perhaps I wasn't clear enough. Let me rephrase it! Unless the dog has strange behavior and rabies is likely, we usually practice 'watchful waiting'. The dog has to be monitored for a couple of weeks for signs of abnormal behavior. If the animal shows signs of disease then treatment should be initiated at once. Obviously, the dog may develop symptoms AFTER the incident.
Scratches may transmit the virus but saliva has to be present. Dry surfaces are considered safe.
So... first things first: if the dog has no symptoms, it has to be watched for 10-14 days. If it develops symptoms of rabies then you should start treatment. Otherwise, just forget about it... If you can't watch the dog then the risk of transmission has to be estimated. Saliva is required and an open wound is required too. I can't say anything about your wound without examining it in person and I didn't see the picture you've uploaded (? perhaps the uploading failed?).
I hope my answer is more clear now. Please let me know if you need any clarification.
low risk...
Detailed Answer:
You're welcome!
I've already answered the first question, but perhaps I wasn't clear enough. Let me rephrase it! Unless the dog has strange behavior and rabies is likely, we usually practice 'watchful waiting'. The dog has to be monitored for a couple of weeks for signs of abnormal behavior. If the animal shows signs of disease then treatment should be initiated at once. Obviously, the dog may develop symptoms AFTER the incident.
Scratches may transmit the virus but saliva has to be present. Dry surfaces are considered safe.
So... first things first: if the dog has no symptoms, it has to be watched for 10-14 days. If it develops symptoms of rabies then you should start treatment. Otherwise, just forget about it... If you can't watch the dog then the risk of transmission has to be estimated. Saliva is required and an open wound is required too. I can't say anything about your wound without examining it in person and I didn't see the picture you've uploaded (? perhaps the uploading failed?).
I hope my answer is more clear now. Please let me know if you need any clarification.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Just a very light scratch no bleeding etc. Almost unnoticed.
Brief Answer:
No risk
Detailed Answer:
As already pointed out, the risk for rabies is insignificant. You shouldn't worry about it.
No risk
Detailed Answer:
As already pointed out, the risk for rabies is insignificant. You shouldn't worry about it.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Prasad
Thank you. Got it, so not to worry about rabies.
2 days after this encounter I developed a sore throat and cough however I know that it’s cold season and feel fine otherwise. It wouldn’t be symptoms of rabies right? Especially that fast after because the dog licked my leg which is far from my brain. I read online it usually takes a few weeks for the first symptoms to appear. Is there any possible way that my cough and sore throat are first signs of rabies if the dog was rabid? Or do you believe it is just a cold?
2 days after this encounter I developed a sore throat and cough however I know that it’s cold season and feel fine otherwise. It wouldn’t be symptoms of rabies right? Especially that fast after because the dog licked my leg which is far from my brain. I read online it usually takes a few weeks for the first symptoms to appear. Is there any possible way that my cough and sore throat are first signs of rabies if the dog was rabid? Or do you believe it is just a cold?
Brief Answer:
no rabies...
Detailed Answer:
Having symptoms just a couple of days after the "incident" is unlikely. It takes weeks or even months for symptoms to develop. I can't say what's your current problem but I can say it's not rabies!
no rabies...
Detailed Answer:
Having symptoms just a couple of days after the "incident" is unlikely. It takes weeks or even months for symptoms to develop. I can't say what's your current problem but I can say it's not rabies!
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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