What should you do if you are exposed to rabies?
Wash the wound thoroughly with soap and water and seek medical attention immediately. Contact your doctor and your local health authority immediately. Call Animal Control to take the animal without damaging its head or risking further exposure. If an apparently healthy domestic dog, cat, ferret or other domestic animal bites a person, it must be captured, confined, and observed daily for ten days following the bite. If it remains healthy during this period, the animal did not transmit rabies at the time of the bite. All wild animals must be tested for rabies if human exposures have occurred. Report all animal bites to the local health department. If a rabies-suspect biting animal cannot be observed or tested, or it tests positive for rabies, treatment should begin immediately.

Show All Answers

1. What is rabies?
2. What animals can get rabies?
3. What are the signs of rabies in animals?
4. How do people become exposed to rabies?
5. What should you do if you are exposed to rabies?
6. What if my pet is exposed to a rabid animal?
7. What can people do to protect themselves against rabies?