Rabies (cont.)
In this Article
5. Q: Will the rabies vaccine make me sick?
A: Adverse reactions to
rabies vaccine and immune globulin are not common. Newer vaccines in use today
cause fewer adverse reactions than previously available vaccines. Mild, local
reactions to the rabies vaccine, such as pain, redness, swelling, or itching at the
injection site, have been reported. Rarely, symptoms such as headache, nausea, abdominal pain,
muscle
aches, and dizziness have been reported. Local pain and low-grade fever may
follow injection of rabies immune globulin.
6. Q: What if I cannot get rabies vaccine on the day I am supposed to get my next dose?
A: Consult with your doctor or state or local public health officials
for recommended times if there is going to be a change in the recommended
schedule of shots. Rabies prevention is a serious matter and changes should not
be made in the schedule of doses.
7. Q: Can rabies be transmitted from one person to another?
A: The only well-documented documented cases of rabies caused by
human-to-human transmission occurred among 8 recipients of transplanted corneas,
and recently among three recipients of solid organs (see MMWR article).
Guidelines for acceptance of suitable cornea and organ donations, as well as the
rarity of human rabies in the United States, reduce this risk. In addition to
transmission from cornea and organ transplants, bite and non-bite exposures
inflicted by infected humans could theoretically transmit rabies, but no such
cases have been documented. Casual contact, such as touching a person with
rabies or contact with non-infectious fluid or tissue (urine, blood, feces) does
not constitute an exposure and does not require postexposure prophylaxis. In
addition, contact with someone who is receiving rabies vaccination does not
constitute rabies exposure and does not require postexposure prophylaxis.
For more information on person-to-person transmission of rabies, see: Fekadu,
M., Endeshaw, T., Alemu, W., Bogale, Y., Teshager, T., & Olson, J. G. (1996).
Possible human-to-human transmission of rabies in Ethiopia. Ethiopia Medical
Journal, 34, 123-127.
Next: How can I protect myself from getting rabies? »
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