What is Rabies?
Rabies is a virus that causes fatal neurologic disease in mammals. It’s transmitted in the saliva, often by the bite of an infected animal to a non-infected animal. There are two main forms of rabies: encephalitic or furious rabies and paralytic or dumb rabies. Carnivores like dogs, foxes, coyotes, and raccoons are more likely to get the encephalitic form and present as most people would expect: aggressive, not afraid of humans and active during times of day where they wouldn’t normally be seen. Herbivores, like horses and cattle, more commonly present with the dumb or paralytic form and may appear dull, lethargic, uncoordinated, or colicky.
What about in Washington State specifically?
Washington doesn’t have terrestrial rabies (rabies endemic in land mammals), but we do have rabies in our bat population with 3-10% of bats tested being found positive for rabies. In other words, this means that it would be possible for a bat to bite a land mammal, including your horse or you, and infect them.
How does the disease progress?
The disease is transmitted in the saliva, most commonly through a bite, but can also be transmitted if saliva from an infected animal is exposed to an open wound or scratch. Contact with urine, blood, or feces of an infected animal is not a documented form of transmission. Once bitten, the virus moves through the muscle to the nerve tissue. Then it moves up the nerves to the brain, and during this time, known as the incubation period, the animal is non-symptomatic. It may take weeks to months for the virus to reach the brain and for the animal to show symptoms. Once the animal becomes symptomatic it is too late to treat.
What does this mean for me as a human?
The virus follows the same pathway in humans from muscle to nerves to the brain. If you are bitten by a wild animal you should wash the wound very thoroughly with soap and water then contact your doctor immediately for rabies post-exposure prophylaxis. You should also contact your doctor for rabies prophylaxis if you wake up with a bat in your room. Bat teeth are so small you may not notice the bite wound, and may be at risk.
In the case of a domestic animal bite, the animal is usually observed for 10-14 days. If the animal remains healthy then the exposed human does not need treatment. Horses that are rabies suspect often have such severe neurologic disease that they are euthanized. If rabies is suspected and the animal is euthanized or dies, the brain will be submitted for testing. Test results should be returned in 24-72 hours. If positive, any people exposed can then get rabies prophylaxis.
Is there rabies treatment available?
There is no effective treatment available for humans, horses or other animals that contract and develop rabies, and the disease is fatal. An experimental treatment for humans called the Milwaukee Protocol has saved one person, but has not been successful since.
How do I protect my horse?
There is a rabies vaccine available for horses to be administered by a licensed veterinarian. The vaccine is effective at preventing disease when given according to recommendation based on the horse's age. The vaccine is recommended to be given on a yearly schedule to horses 12 months and older. The vaccination schedule for foals (horses under 12 months of age) depends on the vaccine status of their dam at the time of birth. The rabies vaccine is relatively inexpensive, and can protect your horse from a fatal neurologic disease that could also infect you.
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