Rabies From Decomposing Carcass?

[perpetuallyanxious]

Hi there, I realize this concern may seem silly but I can't get it off my mind. I was driving along a main road when I came across a dead skunk in the middle of the road. I slowed to avoid hitting it again and I went around it, but as I did so I caught a strong whiff of skunk spray through the open window. This smell dissipated as soon as I drove off, so I wonder if it was indeed skunk spray after all (since I have heard it can smell for miles, and it didn't).

I know rabies mainly spreads through saliva and bites, but I have read that in rare cases gases emitted by decomposing corpses can contain the rabies virus. If the smell I smelled was not skunk spray, and instead gas from the rotting corpse, would I get rabies from the particles in my nose? Would it matter that I was outside? The day was warm-ish but I don't believe the skunk had been in the road long enough for the rabies virus to have died. (It was not there six hours before.)

I realize this may be a very silly concern, but I can't stop thinking about the possibility that I may get rabies. I cannot get shots easily, and I know if I told a doctor I would just get laughed at. Thank you for reading.

[mkh9]

It is a good question but no I don't think you had an exposure. But, if you were say in a crowded place like a cave where there were thousands of bats you could be at risk. But not like this.
regards,
mkh9

[Random_dentist]

The virus might still be present in the neural tissue of the animal or its saliva, (if it was a rabid animal in the first place), but there is no chances of it being suspended in the air, there is no chance of you getting any infection from the scenario, don't worry if rabies was transmitted that easily we humans would have long gone extinct