I was told that there might be some side effects to getting rabbie shots. Is this true? if so what are they? i was recently bit by a mouse. Could they possibly get rabbies? I don't want to get shots if it's not necessary. Thanks for any info.
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Post a question only once and we'll find it under "RECENT". Multiple entries just confuse us dummies.
To answer your questions, Rodents aren't USUALLY vectors of rabies and the liklihood is minimal at worst. I don't recall any information ever on a small rodent as a vector. Mouse bites stand a better chance of passing along some other infections and the wound should be monitored closely.
Side effects of rabies shots are minimal. Low grade fever and a small reddening of the spot around the innoculation is all I had. The first injection did leave me a little sore and achy but after that, the remainder of the shots had little or no effect.
Precautionary injections are expensive and once you are injected, you must wait a set period before become eligible to donate blood. I'm not sure what that is, but you can check with your blood bank.
I don't think they could get rabies by you being bitten. You could however. If you have the mouse or can trap it, dead or alive, you can take it to your vet and he can do a test to see if the animal had it. You can only get it if the animal carried the disease.
-My husband(the licensed taxidermist), made arrangements to take the full series of shots as a precautionary measure-with a follow up blood test and booster shots every year (or two years) as needed thereafter. We mount a lot of varmints that could be carrying rabies. Apparently the local Health Department hadn't considered the rate of exposure that a taxidermist experiences in the performance of their craft. Usually only the local wildlife officers and animal control officers take the full series on a regular basis. Anyway, after he came home from the first innoculation, I teased him about buying him a "collar". I know the nurse that was giving the shots, so I had him 'innocently' ask when He'd be getting his "TAGS". She was a little puzzled at the question, and as the meaning dawned on her-she about rolled in the floor laughing! I heard a rumor about her giving the wildlife officer a set of tags....he's her husband!LOL Anywhoo..the side affects he experienced were kinda like some of the flu symptoms: muscle aches, tiredness, fluctuating fever at times. But it didn't take him long to get over it. It eases our minds, because if he had to go through with the reccommended treatment for rabies it would be a whole lot harder on him than experiencing a few symptoms of the flu every-so-often. -Susan
That's why you shouldn't post in two places. Two sets of answers that Ken has to clean up.
You need to have the titer checked each year. When the titer falls, you'll need a booster shot to bring the titer back up to the accepted level. There's a lot of opinions on this one, and my own personal opinion is that it's an overkill for taxidermists. Sure, we're susceptible, but so is your kid on a hobby horse. Dead animals don't make the best vectors and dog catchers/animal control officers along with DNR folks seem to be the best candidates. For us, I think it amounts to a "feel good" situation. I haven't bothered with a booster or titer check in nearly 10 years. I also eat steak and like my hamburger the same way - medium rare. Adds excitement to a boring life.
The treatments and the preventive are the same thing. I always worried about contracting it AFTER I had the innoculations. I was warned that if I were bitten, the titer would have to be taken to insure the titer was correct and then TAKE A BOOSTER.
Any mammal is capable of getting and transmitting rabies. While mice are not high on the list of species normally associated with transfer they could POTENTIALLY transmit the virus. Any animal bite should be taken seriously, lots of potential problems other than just rabies.
Chris
Nearly ten years ago, and have kept them updated yearly and dont have any long term problems from the rabies shots, they are in the arm shots too.
Short term has already been covered.
JUst make a list of people you want to bite and get the money upfront from your friends on thier list of people to be bitten just incase anything goes a-rye.
There are no side effects to rabies boosters. Second, any animal, even a critter can be exposed to rabies, though some are more highly unlikely. Don't second guess this. As for George's comment that dead animals don't make the best vectors...this is absolutely 100% not true. Rabies is transferred by saliva, which means that dead animals that come into your shop that were not frozen, can have rabies, can transfer rabies to you by saliva. All that needs to happen is the saliva gets into an open wound, and thats how simple it can happen. No one should ever tell anyone that a specific animal doesn't carry rabies or that its of personal opinion. These are medical facts...
Fish don't get rabies, snakes don't, frogs don't, lizards don't, snails don't. Many are extremely rare as opossums, pigs, and small rodents.
Maybe you have rabies.
I was there when the nurse informed my husband of the possible side-effects,as well as when he spoke to his buddies in wildlife management, the dog catcher, and the state biologist. All agreed that they had experienced part or all of the above described symptoms that resulted from taking the shots. I'm not second guessing about this, I was there to see the changes and nurse my huband through the symptoms.-Susan