Vaccination, the only way to prevent rabies

Be careful if you have been bitten by an animal. The only way to prevent rabies, called rabies, is to vaccinate soon after the bite.

Experts say the disease affects the brain and spinal cord, and the consequences can be fatal if we do not see a doctor.

Every year in the Republic of Moldova more than five thousand people go to the family doctor because of various scrapes or bites caused by animals.

The first symptoms of the disease are pain and numbness at the time of the bite, followed by cough and fever. Be careful, they appear later. Anyone who has been bitten by an animal should immediately contact a doctor.

"The incubation period of the rabies virus is 15 days on average, it can vary from eight days to two years, depending on the depth of the bite and its place." The closer to the head, the greater the risk. is higher and the incubation period is shorter, "said ANSP epidemiologist Victoria Slivinschi.

The vaccine, administered free of charge, is carried out immediately after the bite. Experts say that if the symptoms of the disease appear, the vaccines are no longer effective and the infected person dies.

"If the person has been bitten to go to the doctor, he then collects the analysis and decides whether the vaccine is necessary or not." It depends on several factors, if the animal is at home and was vaccinated safely, the doctor decides, "said ANSP epidemiologist, Victoria Slivinschi.

Doctors say that if an animal bit us, we had to immediately clean the wound with soap and water to reduce the risk of infection.

"If you get sick, the disease has only one purpose, there is no cure for rabies in the world, the disease is incurable.If we had a contact, a bite, a sting or salivation of the integument by an unknown animal, we ask for medical help, "said the doctor at the Municipal Municipal Hospital of contagious diseases, Diana Vlad.

According to official data, there are approximately 59,000 deaths a year worldwide, of which 40% are children under 15 years of age. Dogs are at the origin of the virus in 99% of human deaths.