Rabies Risks / Vaccinations

Dear Doctor,

I have a new-born baby and I wanted to check whether she needs to have pre-exposure rabies vaccination.

We live in the Middle East and there are quite a few stray cats around our neighbourhood and they often come into our garden and onto our garden furniture.

Do we only have to worry if there is a situation where an animal bites or scratches our child? Does the virus persist in the environment at all? If so, is it seconds, minutes or hours? I read somewhere that the virus is destroyed very rapidly by light but I haven't been able to confirm this. I was concerned as we have sometimes put the baby on the cushions of our outside furniture where the cats may recently have been.

[Philip D Parks, MD, MPH, MOccH, FACOEM]

Hello,

Dried saliva is not infectious; likewise and in general, the blood,urine, or feces from a rabid animal does not contain a sufficient quantity of the virus to transmit infection.

That being said, cats are predatory and can become infected with rabies while pursuing rodents or bats as prey.

•~ Dr. Parks

This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice. The information presented in this posting is for patients’ education only. As always, I encourage you to see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.