Friend got scratched by random cat. I accidentally touched it. Rabies?

[Graygray]

The cat had a collar on it, but no tags and there was nobody there with it so Im thinking it was a stray. She started petting it then she accidentally touched its butt and it scratched her. Later I accidentally touched her scratch and later was scratching at a bug bite. And earlier that day she ran over my heel with her baby stroller. Then after the scratch she pulled out a blanket for a picnic and my ankle brushed the blanket that she touched and the scratch was on the bottom of her hand so it probably touched the blanket then touched my cut. Then on the way home I was wresting my chin on my hand with my lips really close and I have a really big ulcer on the inside of my lip.I was helping her carry stuff too so I was touching things she touched and my hand touched hers a couple times. Can you get rabies second hand exposure like this? My parents and boyfriend don't believe there is a risk so they won't listen to me.

[Fishmanpa]

With respect, it's so far out of the realm of possibility that a reassuring response isn't even necessary.

Positive thoughts

[MyNameIsTerry]

This is from our NHS:

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Rabies/Pages/Introduction.aspx

They can spread the infection if they bite or scratch you, or in rare cases if they lick an open wound or their saliva gets into your mouth or eyes. Rabies isn't spread through unbroken skin or between people.

So, as you can see, even if your friend got it from an animal, a human can't pass it onto you.

[Graygray]

Thats why Im worried because my cut on my heel that was bleeding touched the blanket and I had a crack on my hand. And also my hand came close to my mouth.

---------- Post added at 00:50 ---------- Previous post was at 00:43 ----------


This is from our NHS:


They can spread the infection if they bite or scratch you, or in rare cases if they lick an open wound or their saliva gets into your mouth or eyes. Rabies isn't spread through unbroken skin or between people.

So, as you can see, even if your friend got it from an animal, a human can't pass it onto you. And when we were taking pictures today with our other friend she had her arm wrapped around my friends shoulders so she had her hand where she got scratched right next to my face, near my mouth. I don't think it touched my mouth but it was really close and I have a huge ulcer on the inside of my lip right now.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Right, so what about this from your CDC:

https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/exposure/materials.html

Rabies virus is transmitted through saliva and brain/nervous system tissue. Only these specific bodily excretions and tissues transmit rabies virus. If contact with either of these has occurred, the type of exposure should be evaluated to determine if postexposure prophylaxis is necessary.

Contact such as petting or handling an animal, or contact with blood, urine or feces does not constitute an exposure. No postexposure prophylaxis is needed in these situations.

Rabies virus becomes noninfectious when it dries out and when it is exposed to sunlight. Different environmental conditions affect the rate at which the virus becomes inactive, but in general, if the material containing the virus is dry, the virus can be considered noninfectious.

So, you touched the blanket. The blanket is dry I assume? Therefore it is considered noninfectious.



But before you even get that far, your friends exposure is considered as not constituting an exposure because of the lack of saliva from the animal anyway and touching that blanket would insight time under exposure to sunlight too with a dry material.



Can you see how impossible it is?

---------- Post added at 01:58 ---------- Previous post was at 01:57 ----------


And when we were taking pictures today with our other friend she had her arm wrapped around my friends shoulders so she had her hand where she got scratched right next to my face, near my mouth. I don't think it touched my mouth but it was really close and I have a huge ulcer on the inside of my lip right now.

But as the NHS say, you can't get rabies from human-to-human contact. Therefore it's irrelevant what contact she had with you.

[axolotl]

A quick Google tells me that in the USA there's been 34 cases of human rabies since 2003, and 10 of those were contracted outside the USA. If it was as easy to catch as some people on here seem to think ("A slightly feral mammal walked past me once, do I have rabies?") it would be at epidemic proportions.

Combined with the fact you can't even catch it like that you literally have nothing to worry about. Absolutely zero.

[Graygray]

Thank you guys