So you think you have Rabies.....
Recently we have had many posts about the fear of contracting rabies from the most unlikely of scenarios.
I thought I would make a post with some facts about Rabies which will hopefully put some peoples minds at rest a little.
Most of the posts we get come from people in the US, so this post is aimed at those in the US
What is Rabies?
Rabies is a viral disease affecting the central nervous system of warm-blooded animals
How rare is Rabies
In this century, the number of human deaths caused by rabies in the United States has drastically declined, from more than 100 cases per year to an average of just two or three cases a year…. This fact was in 2014 and that number is still declining!
So that means that there are 325.7 million people in the United States…….. That is 325700000 and just 2 or 3 of those 325700000 people per year contract rabies, that is a completely miniscule chance of contracting Rabies
Since 2008 there have been 23 cases of human rabies infection, 8 of which were due to exposures outside of the U.S
How is Rabies Transmitted?
Transmission occurs when saliva containing the rabies virus is introduced into an opening in the skin. 90% of animals which are infected with rabies are wild animals, the chances of a pet passing Rabies on to you is very very rare and can not be transmitted by you by walking on or touching something that a rabid animal may or may not have walked on/chewed.
you need to have an open wound on which a rabid animal has got saliva to contract Rabies
Rabies is NOT transmitted by a rabid animals blood..... just saliva
Bats and other animals will not jump out and bite you in your sleep
If an animal bites you you WILL know….. animals are NOT ninjas you will notice if an animal has bitten you. You WILL see the animal.
To make the chances even less (than very very minimal).......
vaccinate your pets and other domestic animals (like cows, goats, sheep, and horses)
Avoid contact with wild animals – do not feed or handle them, even if they seem friendly. If you see a wild animal acting strangely, report it to animal control.
Wash any wound with hot soapy water and keep it clean and covered
2 last things to remember....
1.... How miniscule your chances of contracting rabies actually is in the USA... 3 in 325700000 at most! that is roughly 0.0000000092% chance!!
2.... This is the Rabies virus.... it looks so much friendlier if you add googly eyes and think of it like that :yesyes: :roflmao:
Re: So you think you have Rabies.....
Sticky this... great post!
Positive thoughts
Re: So you think you have Rabies.....
Spiffing post!
Off with its "googly-eyed" virus head :D
Re: So you think you have Rabies.....
Great post. And very true.
Bit I am sure some people will overlook it and still post "I am convinced I have rabies" posts. There are obviously posters here who does not read or participate in any other threads than there own and there are at least one who has started SEVERAL posts about rabies and "invisible bats". I think that we will keep seing more posts from that poster.
Perhaps there should be a simiar thread about brain eating amoeba aswell as there has been several posts this summer about this virtually non-existing organisam that only a hanfull of people on the entire planet has come across with.
Maybe all those who fear rabies should post in this thread. Maybe that could be a wake up call to see how beyond irrational their fear are?
Re: So you think you have Rabies.....
what a great post lets just hope
all the people on here who have
rabies read this OH THAT WILL NONE THEN :doh:
Re: So you think you have Rabies.....
We can keep copying and pasting the link to it and hope.
Re: So you think you have Rabies.....
As someone who has dealt with the "rabies fear" specifically what I like to call "invisible bat syndrome" (this was in Spring 2017 before I joined this site) I just have to say this post is...AWESOME! :D Love the googly eye virus!! I hope that more people who are struggling with the rabies fear can see this thread and hopefully put their mind at ease, as someone who has gone through the fear, I regret giving it so much of my time that spring!
Re: So you think you have Rabies.....
Yes, great post. I would just like to add that there is no invisible bat, ghost bat, Bat Casper or Bat Boy. A bat did not bite you without you knowing or without you thinking. There is no way you could get a bat bite without realizing it. That kind of thinking is classic OCD.
Re: So you think you have Rabies.....
Aw his cute. I want one! :biggrin:
Re: So you think you have Rabies.....
I think one important thing to remember was not in the original post: if you develop terminal stage symptoms of rabies you would way to sick and even crazy to be able to sit and post on an Internet forum that you think you would have rabies. Which people should think about when they are convinced they have rabies because they have a headache or diarreah(which is the most classical anxiety symptom there is).
But I notice - not to my surpise - that some posters fearing rabies are ignoring this post and keep posting "invisible rabies bat" posts as we speak. Maybe those posts should be merged with this one.