No I don't have any vaccines.

Those things seem to be no fun by the way. I've heard the vaccine can make you pretty ill for a few weeks.

I think 223 (and maybe birdshot) is a pretty good medicine for the source of the problem.

 

Shoot all unknown dogs, oppossums, racoons, etc. on sight. In a SHTF situation, vaccines will run out quick and likely not be replenished.

 

i had been vacinated when i was in hs cause i worked at an animal hosp and they suck they have long worn off now

but from my understanding of the virus is that if you cook it through it will kill the virus as its intolerant of heat so just make sure you dont get bit or scratched by the critter or get blood into cuts ect

 

Luckily so far, we dont have it here in the Uk, by the strict control of our sea boarders etc. Hopefully after the SHTF, unless someone is extremely stupid it should remain that way.

 

Rabies has come into the UK via bats as well as stupid people who flaunt the laws and smiggle little fluffy back into the country. The biggest threat would be a prolong period of no power which would allow criters to enter the UK from the Euro rail tunnel.

Can rats and mice carry Rabies?

 

Many cats and dogs have been immunized against rabies, so at least for a while it wouldn't be much of a problem among those populations. Wilder animals might have it, but it's not very prevalent now, that probably wouldn't change much after a TEOTWAWKI event. Any animal acting strange or unusually aggressive would have to be shot for safety's sake.

 

That won't last long...bats, raccoons, and rats are common carriers and often bite domesticated animals. After the first litters of puppies/kittens are born, this will start being a major problem.

 

HA! Rabies is a concern no matter what is going on much less post-SHTF.

That being said we do an excellent job of eliminating Rabies in the U.S. of the minuscule amount of animals that do have rabies are not likely to spread it very fast.

Best plan of action Post SHTF shoot any critter that is not yours that acts aggressively towards you.

 

Rabies will be a major concern post SHTF. I am vaccinated now, but that will be worn off in few years. Humans will just have to be EXTREMELY careful around all warm-blooded animals, and dogs will have to be shot on sight. Even so, rabies will probably still be a major threat. There simply won't be any more vaccine.

 

I was charged by a rabid coyote while hunting Patoka Lake State Park. I had just shot at a deer when it came out of some brush 35' from me. It was snarling and started to run at me. Here I was standing there with a 45/70 TC with a spent round in the chamber with gloves on. I bit the glove on my right hand pulling it off while breaking the gun open with the left. I kept a loaded round in the wristband of my left glove so after pulling out the empty I replaced it and swung it up to meet the thing and pulled the trigger. It was only 4 foot from me.

I now carry a multi shot handgun while in the woods no mater what.

By the way, I may have missed but with the muzzle blast it ran off. Never even thought to look for blood.
The incident was witnessed by a Indiana DNR empolyee that was hunting in a stand within view. The next year the law was changed so that a person with a CC permit could carry while hunting.

Pucker factor of 5 while it happened maybe a 7 afterward while talking it over with the DNR employee and I started thinking about the shots I would have had to endure.
Point is it happens fast.

 

Survive,
Thanks for bringing this up. I think rabies could be a problem in a prolonged event. There will undoubtedly be more contact between wild, infected animals and pets and humans. Unfortunately there is little to be done for an infected person or pet.

As others have said here, it would be best to shoot any unknown and especially aggressive animal.

Wild animals accounted for 93 percent of reported cases of rabies in 2001. The wild animals in which rabies was reported included:

* Raccoons (37.2 percent of all animal cases during 2001)
* Skunks (30.7 percent)
* Bats (17.2 percent)
* Foxes (5.9 percent)
* Other wild animals, including rodents and lagomorphs (0.7 percent).

Lagomorphs was a new one to me. They are rabbits and hares.

 

* Raccoons (37.2 percent of all animal cases during 2001)
* Skunks (30.7 percent)
* Bats (17.2 percent)
* Foxes (5.9 percent)
* Other wild animals, including rodents and lagomorphs (0.7 percent)

If you take a look at that chart (except for bats) - the larger the animal, the better its chances of living through the initial attack, and then developing rabies.

Raccoons - the largest of the listed animals has the highest rate. Raccoons also have the ability to climb a tree once the attack starts. This provides the animal a way to retreat away from its attacker, leaving it wounded, but still alive.

While the smallest and weakest animals - rats, rodents, rabbits,,, have the lowest rates. Probably because they die from the initial attack.

 

Rabies will indeed be a concern post-SHTF. Some areas have more problems with it than others, due to population density of the local wildlife. When I worked at the vet clinic on base overseas, I had to get an annual rabies vaccine, as part of my job entailed packaging (in dry ice into a styrofoam cooler that was placed in a strapped-down red carrier with rabies warnings in FOUR languages) and shipping suspected rabies carriers to the Army lab at Landstuhl

Since the (injectable) vaccine needs to be kept refrigerated until used (the oral vaccine may be different), and used within a certain period, it would not be long until rabies once again reared its ugly head. Outbreaks of the disease seeme to come in cycles, by the way.

 

If you find a way to get this vaccine let me know. My wife works as a Vet Tech and has found it impossible to get unless the vet hospital she works for sponsors vaccinations for all employees.

 

rats, mice ,possums, and rabbits very rarely get rabies, something 'bout not much saliva and body temperatures being high or low for the virus to thrive in.

 

Somebody watched "I am Legend" today! I really don't think we could have an "outbreak", but it would run rampant amongst all of the "pets" and other animals that are left behind when the SHTF. People have no respect for living things, and even now, will just leave their dogs or cats behind when they move. I deal with abandoned animals all the time. I am the self proclaimed "animal control" for my area. People always bring them to me, because they know how I am, and I eventually find homes for ALL of them. Not that hard. I don't think it would be too major of a concern for humans.

 

This is the part that worries me ... irresponsible pet owners - worse, stupid irresponsible pet owners. Even in good times there are those who claim they can't afford to get their pets vaccinated. Even when the state is sending around Pet Vac vans and charging $3.00 a shot. Heck, you can even go to the weed & feed around here and buy the vaccine and give it to your pets yourself. The only thing that could be easier is if it was GIVEN to them. But, still I suspect there would be excuses.

A neighbor's dog once bit my youngest son. The wound was deep and he had to have stitches and spent 2 weeks on crutches. The County came out, determined the dog was not vaccinated and needed to be penned up. They actually gave the owners the option of letting the county take the dog to watch him or let the dog owner pen the dog himself. What a stupid thing to do. Why trust someone who has proven they are stupid and irresponsible? Of course the owner chose to watch his dog himself. Within 3 days not only was the dog gone but the people had moved during the night. They were no where to be found and my 7 year old (at the time) had to go through those shots. The stupid male person (I'll never call him a man) actually sent us a message saying he hoped our son was fine and that we weren't mad at him but he had to protect his dog and his family from being sued. No one said anything about suing them but I tell you what - 21 years later I'd still like to punch him in the nose - one punch for every shot my son had to endure.

No, we'll never keep rabies down shtf. To many people who refuse to care about their fellow humans, much less their own families.

Josh, thank you for finding abandoned animals homes. I grow so frustrated with the evil spirit some people have towards animals. The drainpipes in my neighborhood are full of feral cats where people have moved off and left their cats. Those cats go into the sewer to live and reproduce. Every couple of years the county comes out and rounds up the feral cats to destroy them. Within 6 months we have the same problem again. Dogs, well some are adopted. Most are ran over in traffic and the few that remain are picked up by animal control. It makes me sick to see how evil some people are toward animals they once professed to love.

 

When my brother was about 5 years old he got in contact with a dog that had rabies. Back in those days you had to get 30 shots for the treatment. 1 per day in the stomach. Now they have managed to whittle the treatment down to 4 shots in the arm.

Home Remedies For Dog Bite

When an animal scratches or bites braking the skin, a number of problems can arise, the most important is infection cause by the animal's saliva.

There is also risk of tetanus in all puncture injuries. Never run from a dog it calls the animal's instincts to chase and bite.

Some Home Remedies for Dog Bites

#1: Wash the dog bite thoroughly with warm water and soap for more then 5 minutes to remove the saliva rinse with cold water and place a gauze on it.

#2:Take Vitamin C it helps fight infection.

#3:Take vitamin B it helps to produce antibodies.

#4:If the bite is big, see a doctor it may be necessary to be stitched.

#5:Take Echinacea in tea form.

#6:Goldenseal tea the first day is very good for dog bites. Do not use this if you are pregnant.

#7:Goldenseal applied directly on the bite is helpful as a natural antibiotic.

1800's remedy for Rabies

I read in a old herbal book that if someone was suspected to have been bitten by a rabid dog they would take some plantain herb, crush it, add salt and apply a hot wet compress to the bite wound. Plantain draws, as well as salt. So the hope was that the salt and the herb would draw out the bacteria before it made it's way through the blood stream

Homeopathy for Rabies

Lachesis listed in Clark's Clinical Repertory as the main remedy for treating rabies in people. The same remedy listed in homeopathic literature as effective for the disease of rabies in animals was used for people too.

The homeopathic remedy that is made from the saliva from a rabid dog is called, Lyssinum

A good friend of mine is a naturopathic doctor, that has specialized in homeopathy. I plan to ask him if there are any suggestions other than "Lachesis & Lyssinm" for rabies.

If anyone has any other suggestions ... feel free to post them. Shooting things on sight has already been mentioned and certainly has its validity. Just thinking of after the fact...

 

I read in a old herbal book that if someone was suspected to have been bitten by a rabid dog they would take some plantain herb, crush it, add salt and apply a hot wet compress to the bite wound. Plantain draws, as well as salt. So the hope was that the salt and the herb would draw out the bacteria before it made it's way through the blood stream

Homeopathy for Rabies

Lachesis listed in Clark's Clinical Repertory as the main remedy for treating rabies in people. The same remedy listed in homeopathic literature as effective for the disease of rabies in animals was used for people too.

The homeopathic remedy that is made from the saliva from a rabid dog is called, Lyssinum



If anyone has any other suggestions ....

My suggestion is that either of those options will result in the individuals death. An extremely tortured, painful death.

 

Rabies explanation. The article goes on to explain the cost of the vaccine...pretty steep!
http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=11943

 

Rabies is a HUGE threat. Out of all viruses that can cross between species, Rabies is the most common worldwide. In the U.S. people think rabies is a minor issue, but the truth is that it is a serious problem. THe only reason it is fairly controlled here is due to the efforts of the gubermint. If they collapse after a shtf scenario, rabies will spread.

As of 2007, I was only aware of ONE CASE where a person didn't die after exposure without vaccines. Rabies is a guaranteed death sentence if you can't get vaccinated after contracting it. And it is a horrible death.

And for those of you who say, "shoot any animal acting funny, drooling, etc" it just ain't that easy. That's the Hollywood version of rabies. IRL, its not always so easy to see suspicous symptoms.

Currently, bats are the greatest threat, because they can bite you without you knowing it. Other mammals such as raccoons are common carriers. And without yearly trips to the vet, in a shtf scenario, dogs and cats will start to carry it soon enough.

Squirrels, however, are largely thought to have some immunity (although the truth is that they likely die from the attack from a rabid animal, thus never carrying or becoming sick from a rabies infection).

 

That's why I think it would be better to shoot ANY dog you encounter on sight. Not worth the risk, like you said, rabies is a 100% sure death sentence.

 

I had to have the shots when a child because I was attacked by a wild cat. The cat was caught & was to be tested but he got away prior to. I had them in the stomach but unlike a previous entry, I only had to have 14. My sister recently had to have them due to a bat bite & I think she had 3 in the arm. I'm sure for them to remain effective, boosters would be needed, just like with a pet.

I have racoons feeding on pet food just about every night & NEED to be more careful & cease this. Rabies in racoons is not uncommon where I live.

 

I'm going to say that it is very doubtful that you can acquire rabies vaccine. I'll explain why.

Last year my son, who was 4 years old at the time, managed to pick up a chipmunk by the tail. In the process, the chipmunk managed to give him a nasty little bite. I arrived home about 15 minutes after it happened, I couldn't track the chipmunk down so we were left wondering how the boy managed to catch the chipmunk if it wasn't sick. He was playing very loud in the yard, yelling and screaming and just making a lot of noise (which also made me wonder how he caught the chipmunk with all the nosie).

So I started doing some research, small animals die very quickly they contract rabies (this includes squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, et cetera). Connecticut (and other states as well) and the CDC have infection datasets available for download. These datasets are have several interesting datapoints including county (some have greater geo data as well), animal type, reported infections, and some dates are available as well. I found a few cases where rabies was transmitted from a chipmunk to a human (none in CT). This was enough for me (my threshold was one).

In the morning I called down to our doctor, and was immediately dismissed "Rabies doesn't transmit from small animals to humans, the statistic is within an acceptable measure."

So I called the State of Connecticut epidemiologist. I explained the incident with my son and where we lived (our house borders a local forest/tree reserve). She was very nice, and spent about 20 minutes talking with me about rabies and cases in the state. She explained the cases in our area (including several within the last few weeks). She mentioned that statistically, it's very unlikely that my son was infected by rabies, however, she said "I just can't see a four year old being able to catch a chipmunk."
She explained that all of the rabies vaccines in the state are controlled by the department of epidemiology and are correlated with the infection data both locally and nationally (CDC). The vaccines are very expensive, very limited and sensitive to expiration (apparently they don't last for years). She told me the process for obtaining the vaccine was a formal request from our healthcare provider (i.e. I couldn't just buy one).

So I asked her what she would do, her reply "Get the vaccine, the circumstances are just too strange and we have no way of verifying without the chipmunk.", and because the administration of the vaccine is very time dependent (I believe it's 72 hours). She told me to call the doctor and have their office call the department of health (epidemiology) and speak to her if they had questions about the specific data.

I spent the next several hours debating with the pediatrics department. They kept insisting that since the statistics didn't support it (no confirmed cases in CT), that it wasn't relevant. They did acknowledge that a few cases have occurred with squirrels and rabbits, but none with chipmunks, so it didn't matter. Eventually, after working my up the chain (keep in mind this is at an HMO), they head of the pediatrics department let it slip that the vaccine ran about $7500+ (presumably because it needs to be administered over the course of a month).

Now I imagine that you can probably obtain the vaccine from a number of places, but in an official, legal capacity it appears that the vaccine is extremely expensive and not likely to be available in any SHTF case.

I'm not saying this is the case everywhere, but is absolutely the case in Connecticut and it wouldn't surprise me (since the CDC is involved with ALL rabies cases and vaccines) if other states were equally stupid in this regard.

 

I would have politly informed them that my child was bitten and the dept of health said the best course of action was to get it and that if they dont give it to my son and as the application of the vacine was time sensitive if they did not and he got ill from the bite that i would be the owner of there medical practice as they would lose everything in the lawsuit. threaten lawsuits and people like that listen

 

I have no facts or figures. I'm just stating from what I've seen and been around. I know more people who don't vaccinate than do. It drives me crazy. .50 (half a dollar) put aside every month gets your pet vaccinated once a year around here. Yet people won't do it. I've known people who spend dollars having their dogs nails polished or buying "cute" outfits for them but then don't vaccinate. I'd best stop before I say what I think of people who do these things to pets because no doubt there are some of those people here on this board. In my estimation I'd guess 25% vaccinate and maybe 30% spay and that's only because they don't want to deal with an animal going into heat.

I hope I'm wrong but I suspect shtf, rabies will be a huge problem.

 

According to our vet the shots dont really need to be administered but a few times and that they the animal builds up a natural defense from the vaccine (like we do with vaccines).

Every 3 years is what they do around here.....some say every 7-10 years but the state says at least every 1-3 years.

 

Any mammal can be susceptible to rabies. A boy was bitten by a beaver a few years ago that was confirmed to have rabies. It isn't always contracted by a bite from a predatory animal. Animals fight and scrabble a lot among their own kind. Also, the aggressive approach of a rabid animal is one way it is manifested. Sometimes the animal just acts abnormal or confused. Distemper can give a similar presentation. As stated foxes, skunks, and raccoons tend to run high in contraction. Which species runs higher depends on the part of the country.

Rabies is far more common than many believe and like most diseases tends to run high and low cycles as populations die off and recover. People are less exposed, per capita, to wild life than they used to be and are often unaware. While I don't believe I've ever dealt with rabies, I have trapped a number of sick animals. Mange and parvo is the most common malady with the canines. Distemper seems the most common with raccoons. I've never trapped what looked to be a sick skunk.

 

My kids had the shots a few years ago and never skipped a beat. they come into contact with a questionable animal and we were concerned because they were so young and had so much contact with the animal.

The shots were a few in the butt and a few in the arm. The kiddos didnt even make that big of a deal about it either. My daughter didnt cry but my son whimpered a little bit. They were never sick from the shots....the nurses made a fuss over them but if you ask them now they don't remember it.

From what I understand the shots that they got need a booster every 7 years to keep them from getting rabies if they ever get bitten by a positive animal....I think its the same thing they give vets and vet techs.

 

When we talk about deadly viruses, people usually think Lassa, Marburg, and Ebola. But 70-90% of people of those diseases can survive with medical support. As someone above stated, scientists can count on two hands the number of people who've survived rabies once symptoms appeared. It's the deadliest virus on earth.

I believe the most recent survivor was a teenager bitten by a bat. She didn't tell anyone and when she began developing symptoms the doctors had to do quite a bit of testing to discover what she had. They used something called The Milwaukee Protocol, which involved an induced coma. The girl had neurological problems for a time, but she's currently in college and living a normal life as far as I know.

One case of rabies was spread by a corneal transplant. No one knew how, when, or where the donor had been exposed to the disease, but it was passed on to the transplant recipient.

Maybe that's why movies such as "Quarantine" use rapidly spreading/airborne rabies as the villain disease.

 

It's not just aggressive animals you have to worry about. The other end of the spectrum applies too--animals that are normally afraid of man that come right up to you. Don't mistakenly think you got the gift of Grizzly Adams or Ellie May. Rabies effect the central nervous system and throws our fears completely out of whack.