I had the misfortune to cut myself while fleshing a Racoon(ten stiches). The E.R. doctor thought rabies was transmitted by saliva but would check with the C.D.C. and notify me if I was at risk of contracting rabies. My subject was a roadkill and an appearantly
healthy male. Does anyone have any experience or information in this area?
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10 stitches. what were you using to flesh with? I also had the misfortune of cutting myself this past july and i can tell you it really hurts to nearly cut your thumb off from your hand. only real difference is i was just trying to mut my knife up.
-Brandon
I recently had an encounter with a rabid fox, so I was forced to get a quick education on how rabies is transmitted. I found out that you can only get rabies from the saliva or brain matter of the rabid animal. If the saliva or brain matter comes in contact with an open wound or mucus membranes, you need to have the preventative treatment. You cannot get rabies from the blood of an infected animal, only the saliva and brain matter.
I was using great grandpa's drawknife. The left handle wouldn't stay in place(mounts on a tapered tang ala a file)so I rapped it on a bench top. The handle split and the combo of greasy 'coon and my impatients.....I almost got to see the plastic surgeon. Your info with regards to saliva squares with what the doc said. Do you know of a means of checking a prospective hide donner? I'm in a high rabies incidence area(Randolph co.,N.C.).The breeding season for racoon is starting here and as low brow as it seems, I hate to waste usable roadkill. thanks for the responses.
You maybe can get the pre. shots at your local health dept. I was told that should you get into a situation where shots would be required it would be the shot in the arm not the liver.
that the ER physicial should have some knowledge on how rabies are transmitted. I didn't myself. but then again, I'm not a Doctor. If he was in doubt, I would have thought he would have gone to the phone that the ER physicial should have had some knowledge on this subject, or should have right then and there went to the phone or to the internet to look it up.
Off this subject a bit, did you know that 90% of racoons are infected with round worms? Racoons are immune to this but humans are not. If not detected quickly, it can cause severe neurological (probably misspelled) damage and even death within 12 weeks. I always use gloves when working with them for that reason.
I had to undergo the rabies vaccine series about 2 years ago after being attacted by a stray dog. They gave me all the shot in the butt and thighs. As I recall, it took about 6 given over a period of 3 months.
I do believe I posted this before, but I have it on good authority that when the temperature of the potentially infected animal drops down to room temperature and especially to outside temperature for a period of time (an hour or so), the rabies virus is killed/inactive (source a medical doctor).
A study conveyed to me by a veteranarian friend told me where they checked the titer of anti-rabies white blood cells (or whatever creats a titer) in a series of trappers. When trappers routinely skin animals they often have nicks and come in contact with dead or inactivated rabies virus. They do not develop rabies but do create "anti-rabies" entities in the blood, much like some of the forms of innoculation for certain diseases.
Roadkills would be best refrigerated for some time or frozen to prevent rabies, or ticks, or roundworms, etc., and they skin better (at least in my opinion)
The Rabies virus can be found in any body fluid! The highest concentration however, is in the saliva and neural (brain, spinal cord) systems.