Rabies and You
What is Rabies?
Rabies is a bad infection of the nervous system. That makes it a problem because your nervous system controls everything that your body does, from eating and sleeping to playing with your friends. Rabies is caused by a virus. Viruses can be spread in many ways, but rabies can only be caught when an animal - that already has rabies - bites or scratches you. Once rabies gets inside an animal it will grow and multiply until the animal dies from the damage that the rabies has done.
Who can get Rabies?
Anyone and any animal. Rabies doesn't care who it attacks, it only wants to find a new body to infect. This means that you, as a person, can also get sick from rabies...
How can you tell if an animal has rabies?
Rabies infected animals show lots of different symptoms. The symptoms can be very strange and can change in different animals. Some of the more common symptoms are:
The animal becomes angry (aggressive)
The animal may start to act strangely, an example of such is biting at nothing or pressing into walls, or even attacking itself
The animal will drool (many people call this foaming at the mouth)
Some animals will stop being able to move and may just lie down and stare at nothing
Can rabies be fixed?
When we talk about fixing a disease or illness, we actually are talking about curing the disease. Sadly, there is nothing that can be done to help an animal that has gotten rabies. Every animal that gets rabies will die and that is a very sad fact. This is why prevention is much better than cure.
It can't be cured but it can be stopped!
Luckily, it is easy to stop you and your pets from getting rabies. Some very clever doctors and vets have made a special medicine called a vaccine. Vaccines teach your body to know when a disease is trying to attack it, and help your body to learn to fight back. All it takes is one shot, at the vet, once a year to protect your grown up dog or cat from getting rabies. It's simple, it's easy and it's cheap.
What else can you do to help?
Talk to your parents about vaccinating your pets. Show them this site if they're unsure of what you mean.
Don't let your pets run around loose where you live. Keep them safe by keeping them close in your house or garden.
Don't walk up to or touch a strange animal. Especially if it seems sick. Call your nearest vet or the police and they will help you.
Now that you know all about rabies test your knowledge by visiting our interactive games in the pages above...
Who can get Rabies?
Anyone and any animal. Rabies doesn't care who it attacks, it only wants to find a new body to infect. This means that you, as a person, can also get sick from rabies...
How can you tell if an animal has rabies?
Rabies infected animals show lots of different symptoms. The symptoms can be very strange and can change in different animals. Some of the more common symptoms are:
The animal becomes angry (aggressive)
The animal may start to act strangely, an example of such is biting at nothing or pressing into walls, or even attacking itself
The animal will drool (many people call this foaming at the mouth)
Some animals will stop being able to move and may just lie down and stare at nothing
Can rabies be fixed?
When we talk about fixing a disease or illness, we actually are talking about curing the disease. Sadly, there is nothing that can be done to help an animal that has gotten rabies. Every animal that gets rabies will die and that is a very sad fact. This is why prevention is much better than cure.
It can't be cured but it can be stopped!
Luckily, it is easy to stop you and your pets from getting rabies. Some very clever doctors and vets have made a special medicine called a vaccine. Vaccines teach your body to know when a disease is trying to attack it, and help your body to learn to fight back. All it takes is one shot, at the vet, once a year to protect your grown up dog or cat from getting rabies. It's simple, it's easy and it's cheap.
What else can you do to help?
Talk to your parents about vaccinating your pets. Show them this site if they're unsure of what you mean.
Don't let your pets run around loose where you live. Keep them safe by keeping them close in your house or garden.
Don't walk up to or touch a strange animal. Especially if it seems sick. Call your nearest vet or the police and they will help you.
Now that you know all about rabies test your knowledge by visiting our interactive games in the pages above...