Since the beginning of the year in New York City six rabies infections were confirmed in animals, four in Manhattan, one in the Bronx and one on Staten Island. The CRM centre for travel medicine advises travelers in the United States after a suspect animal contacts, contact a physician immediately.
Annually about 35,000 people in the United States due to suspicion of rabies, treated. "The risk of being infected during a trip to the USA with rabies, but it is extremely low,” explains Professor Jelinek, scientific Director of the CRM. Travelers should, however, be aware that after a contact with wild animals such as raccoons, bats, Skunks or foxes, the possibility of a rabies infection. Suspect an animal is in contact, when normally shy, animals in the wild don’t be Shy in front of people. Also, in trusting to strangers, please be careful.
"For an infection, a bite is not necessary,” explains Jelinek. If the saliva of an infected animal comes in contact with small open skin of the people, could get the rabies virus in the human organism. A cure for the disease, there is not, following the outbreak of rabies leads without exception to the death. "In General, the incubation period is three to eight weeks. In individual cases, it may even take several years until the disease breaks out,” says the travel medical.
If, despite caution, a contact with a rabies suspect animal, or even a bite should travellers as soon as possible consult a doctor. The treatment consists of wound care and post-exposure immune prophylaxis: "Travelers who are already vaccinated against rabies, receive any further doses of the vaccine to booster the immunization. Who has, however, no rabies vaccination given, in addition to vaccination, in addition, immunoglobulins verabreicht", according to Jelinek. It could be assumed that the required drugs in the United States are available, different as in rabies proliferation of areas such as Asia, Africa or Latin America. Here is the CRM traveller advises to be sure before the trip is fully vaccinated. Germany since 2008 as a free of classical wild rabies, however, rabies is present in bats.
NK
An Overview of all the messages you get on aponet.de current.