Rabies is a zoonotic natural foci disease caused by rabies virus, mainly invading the central nervous system, leading to acute, progressive, irreversible and fatal encephalomyelitis. Prominent, so the disease is also known as hydrophobia, rabid dog disease.
Young dogs under the age of 1 are especially important in the spread of the virus. The disease is mainly infected by the bite of infected animals, and can also be infected by animals licking mucous membranes, wounds or scratches. The saliva of rabies animals contains a large amount of virus, which is contagious 3 to 5 days before the onset of disease. The disease is mostly sporadic and has no obvious seasonality, but it occurs more frequently in spring, summer, autumn and winter. After infection, people show anxiety, pharyngeal tightness, dysphagia, shortness of breath, and late stage patients are afraid of water, wind, abnormal secretion of salivary glands, and soon the disease evolves, leading to death of respiratory and circulatory failure.
The incubation period of rabies varies, the shortest is 5d, the elderly can range from several months to 1 year or longer, generally 1-3 months. There are two clinical manifestations: excitatory (or violent) and paralytic, with 80% of dogs showing the excitatory type. The dog first showed excitement, aggression and strange behavior, and after about 7 days, it turned into a paralysis stage, gradually paralyzed, and finally died of respiratory failure. The paralytic type is in a state of paralysis from the initial stage of onset, and continues to die after 3-6 days, hardly attacking people or other animals.
The course of the disease in dogs is generally 6-8 days after natural infection, and can be extended to 10 days in a few cases. The excitatory developmental process is generally divided into three stages: prodromal, excitatory and paralytic.
Prodromal dogs are depressed and sensitive to sound and light. Often hides in the dark, salivation and tail pinching, weak hindquarters, abnormal appetite, likes to eat foreign objects, mild paralysis of the larynx, fear of water, hypersexuality, sniffing and licking of own or other dog’s sexual organs; dogs tend to change Habits: At the beginning of the disease, there is often a tendency to run away or avoid, unwilling to approach people or not listening to calls.
The aggression is more obvious in the excited period (manic period), running everywhere, up to 10 kilometers away, and may bite at any time along the way In humans or animals encountered, hydrophobia is a special symptom of rabies. Typical people who see water, drink water, and hear the sound of running water show severe laryngospasm. Fear of wind is also one of the common symptoms. Breeze or other stimuli such as light, sound, touch, etc. can cause pharyngeal muscle spasm, and in severe cases, painful convulsions all over the body. A large number of casts, the conjunctiva of the eyes are red, and there is feces at the corners of the eyes; dogs can also bite their tails and limbs.
In the paralysis stage, the dog’s jaw droops, the tongue sticks out, the salivation increases, the hindquarters and limbs are paralyzed, and the dog finally lies down and died of respiratory failure.
The incubation period of pseudorabies is 3 to 6 days, with a few up to 10 days. Dogs show indifference to the outside world at the beginning of the disease, followed by anxiety, refusal to eat, but increased thirst. Sit curled up. Body temperature rises only occasionally, and vomiting often occurs. The wound is itchy, often staring, scratching, licking, and biting the itchy area. After a few hours, there may be extensive plaques, swelling of the surrounding tissue, and even deep breakage.
Sometimes this symptom is absent, but the dog groans as if there is pain somewhere in the body. In some cases, rabies-like attacks can also be seen, biting and tearing various objects, but never attacking humans and animals, and can fight with other dogs when itching. Early dogs have pharyngeal paralysis, salivation and inability to swallow. The pupils are often unequal in size on both sides. Intermittent twitching of the flexor and labial muscles of the head and neck was seen in most dogs. Breathing difficulties, often within 24 to 36 hours of death.
The dog in this case showed symptoms such as apathy, lethargy, fear of water, etc., and should be alert to the possibility of rabies. Preliminary diagnosis can be made based on the experience of being injured by the diseased animal, and laboratory diagnosis is required for the diagnosis.
