Anti-vaxxers set their sights on... rabies?

Ahh rabies. The terrifying bullet-shaped rhabdovirus that invariably leads to fatal symptoms...

Luckily, we have a good vaccine, and post-exposure prophylaxis available. Most people in the US don’t need to get vaccinated because rabies is rare, and it is very easy to know if you’ve been exposed. Unless your dog can talk and say “rat’s right, I got bit, ” 

"Rat's right!"

a dog owner might have no idea. Dogs that spend a lot of time frolicking about also tend to be more likely to find themselves exposed to rabies than people. They can also spread it to other unvaccinated mammals, whereas humans can only do so in cases of blood transfusion.

While it makes sense that we don’t vaccinate all people, it makes a lot of sense to vaccinate dogs… right?

In a surprisingly comprehensive article (http://indefinitelywild.gizmodo.com/everything-you-never-wanted-to-know-about-rabies-1692469803), Gizmodo talks about what rabies is, how you and your pets can get it, and how important it is to vaccinate. They also point out a website that claims that the rabies vaccine causes behavioral problems in dogs later on (http://www.dogs4dogs.com/truth4dogs.html). The site also says that since rabies is so rare, we don’t have to vaccinate dogs anymore.

Sound familiar?

Thankfully the site hasn't been updated in a while.

Let’s hope there’s not a “Rabies-land” analogy to the “Measley-land” outbreak. The best thing we can do is vaccinate our pets!

--Joe