wvscharity

I think he it too! Amazing The Office reference Super-Zero - top marks!!!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platypus

Hello heebit_the_jeeb ! Worldwide, 99% of human rabies cases are transmitted by dog bites BUT every warm blooded mammal can get rabies. Because in the USA and Canada canine rabies has been eliminated through successful vaccinations strategies now the virus is still found in wildlife. Now the primary carriers in North America are skunks, bats, foxes, coyotes and not forgetting Racoons. Your mum was RIGHT and she cares, so listen to her. FYI If you get bitten by any wild animal, please wash your wounds thoroughly for 15 minutes with soap and get medical advice from a doctor or health department immediately.

Hi @doesntthinkmuch great question! It can be tough to engage sometime when we get these sort of questions but thankfully we have TONS of data to back up that rabies vaccinations of dogs work. Here is some great information from the WHO (World Health Organisation not the band) that really explains well the need for vaccines! Thank you!

Hi @thisisrogue2! Nice question, keep 'em coming! Thanks for bringing that up - for those who don't know: the rabies virus is spread via the saliva, not blood. Infected animals and people cannot swallow anymore which is why they drool. In India we did an initial test to see if a cow had rabies by putting a pale of water in front of it and the cow tried to drink but couldn't swallow. In infected humans lots of cases of hydrophobia are reported; the studies show the patients have involuntary contractions of neck muscles when they drinks water, but at later stages of disease, the patient will even start to contract his muscles even at the thought of water. This is an ancient and scary disease which has simply evolved to do that.