Podcast 664: Rabies Prophylaxis

<p><strong>Contributor:  Jared Scott, MD</strong></p> <p><strong>Educational Pearls:</strong></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">1-3 cases of rabies per year in US with 55,000 people per year receiving rabies prophylaxis</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">90% of rabies cases come from wildlife, most commonly by racoons, bats, foxes, and skunks</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Because of rabies prophylaxis, domesticated pets almost never have rabies in the United States</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Rabies is typical transmitted via a bite, but direct contact with saliva or brain tissue on an open wound can transmit the virus</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Some people exposed to rabies from bats will never report a bite</span></li> </ul> <p><strong>References</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kessels J, Tarantola A, Salahuddin N, Blumberg L, Knopf L. Rabies post-exposure prophylaxis: A systematic review on abridged vaccination schedules and the effect of changing administration routes during a single course. Vaccine. 2019 Oct 3;37 Suppl 1:A107-A117. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2019.01.041. Epub 2019 Feb 5. PMID: 30737043.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Rabies Postexposure Prophylaxis (PEP). Published June 11, 2019. https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/medical_care/index.html</span></p> <p> </p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Summarized by John Spartz, MS3 | Edited by Erik Verzemnieks, MD</span></em></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Emergency Medical Minute is excited to announce that we are now offering</span> <em><span style="font-weight: 400;">AMA PRA Category 1 credits™</span></em> <span style="font-weight: 400;">via online course modules. T