Veterinary - Special Hunting Dogs: Back there Anger in Italy, here's what to know.
With Circular no. 36 of 10/9/93, the Ministry recommends preventive vaccination for categories professionally exposed to specific risk such as: veterinarians, laboratorians, gamekeepers, woodcutters, naturalists, cavers, animal care workers, and in any case to people who, due to their activity, can easily come into contact with potentially infected animals or with the rabies virus.
Pre-exposure vaccination, even if it does not eliminate the urgency of prophylactic treatment after exposure to rabies virus, facilitates it, making the administration of immunoglobulins unnecessary and reducing the necessary vaccination dose.
The Veneto Region sent, a few weeks ago, a note to the Hygiene and Public Health Services of the ASLs of the Veneto with a request to disseminate information on the ongoing epidemic to General Practitioners, PLS and continuity of care, recommending to promote and facilitate access to vaccination of the categories at risk through the collaboration of the vaccination services of the SISP with the SPISAL and the veterinary services. It is also essential to promote information to citizens and to those who go to areas at risk even for work reasons so that they avoid contact with stray or wild animals. To this end, also in Trentino Alto Adige the Association of Trentino Hunters in collaboration with the Italian body for dog lovers last January 13 he organized a conference dedicated to the topic. Hunters, dog lovers and pet owners have been made aware of thele anti-rabies procedures to be implemented on their dogs, through the national health service and private veterinarians.
But let's analyze this fearful pathology specifically: la anger is an acute febrile disease of viral origin, with rapidly progressive manifestations affecting the Central Nervous System and with a lethality rate of 100%, caused by the rabies virus (genus lyssaviruses, family Rhabdoviridae). Even before the onset of symptoms it is present in the saliva of the infected animal and can be transmitted to humans through biting, licking of non-intact skin or through contact with mucous membranes. Only mammals can become infected and develop anger . Birds, fish, reptiles do not get sick.
In our continent, the most infected animal is the red fox and, to a much lesser extent, other wild animals (raccoons, wolves, mustelids, wild herbivores, bats, etc.) and domestic animals (dogs, cats, ferrets, cattle, etc. .). It should be noted that the animal species most affected by rabies also vary according to the territory concerned.
But what are the symptoms that allow us to recognize an infected animal?
An animal with rabies exhibits changes in behavior: the wild animal loses its natural distrust of man, while normally tame animals exhibit unwarranted aggression. They can also be observed difficulty in movement, paralysis and eventually death. However, it should be emphasized that an infected animal may show symptoms weeks or months later. For this reason, it is not always possible to trace the exact moment of the infection.
In order to avoid contagion and limit the spread of this pathology it is good to avoid any contact with wild animals and with any unknown animal, even if it is sociable.
Do not adopt wild animals as pets. If a wild animal behaves strangely, it should be reported to the veterinarians of the health authorities, the municipal police or the forest ranger.
Pets must be vaccinated (in areas at risk, vaccination is mandatory for i dogs, recommended for cats and ferrets) and it is best to report any abnormal or unusual behavior observed in pets to the veterinarian.
There is no cure for anger, but a lot can be done to prevent it. Therefore it is recommended not to take pets, even if vaccinated, into the woods or out of built-up areas. The movement of pets and humans into the sylvan habitat can prompt infected animals to move to new areas and this facilitates the spread of the disease.
Finally, hoping that you will never face a situation of this type, I conclude by telling you that if you are bitten by a rabid animal you must: wash the wound immediately with plenty of soap and water for at least 15 minutes: in order to reduce the spread of the virus. The virus, in fact, spreads from the point of penetration, after multiplying in the surrounding muscle tissue, along the sensory nerves, to the central nervous system where it causes degenerative lesions.
Quickly reach the emergency room for appropriate treatment and explain how the bite occurred. Your doctor will administer post-exposure rabies vaccination if needed.
If, on the other hand, a pet is bitten, it is important to contact your trusted veterinarian for the necessary care and precautionary measures (the animal can be subjected to surveillance for 10 days).