RABIES VACCINATION: IS IT THAT IMPORTANT?
This question usually arises from people who keep their pets strictly indoors. On one hand they don’t want to hit the body of their pet with medicine unless it’s absolutely necessary, on the other hand they believe that their pets are completely safe as they don’t go out and any interaction of their pets with infected animals is excluded.
But are their pets really safe and is rabies vaccination harmful for pets?
First and foremost! RABIES CAN’T BE CURED. It is a terrifying disease that can be stopped ONLY through immunization. Immunization is done by administering a vaccine containing an inactivated virus (meaning it is absolutely impossible to contract rabies from the vaccine itself; the virus in it is dead and cannot cause the disease even if the recipient is weakened, unlike a vaccine containing a live, attenuated virus). Rabies affects absolutely all mammals but progresses at different rates. Humans, due to the speed with which the virus reaches the nervous system, have some time to develop immunity before the virus reaches its target. Therefore, vaccination and immunoglobulin administration are normally made for people only after the contact with a suspect animal. However, in small animals, the process occurs more quickly, and there's usually no time for immunization after the bite. Typically, the virus attacks the central nervous system before the vaccine can induce sufficient antibody production. Thus, animals should be immunized prophylactically BEFORE the bite. AFTER the bite, the animal must also be vaccinated, as not only the presence of antibodies but also their quantity is important. If antibodies are low, the virus will still reach its target, and the animal will become ill. Hence, even vaccination doesn't guarantee protection, but it significantly increases the animal's chances of survival. Antibody levels decline over time, so booster shots are administered. Although some vaccines claim protection for 3 years, it's highly recommended to vaccinate the animals more frequently to maintain high antibody levels.
Bottom line: rabies vaccination is, without exaggeration, the only chance of survival if exposed to the disease. An unvaccinated animal will die 100%, infecting other animals and people along the way.
Now, let's address the issue of vaccinating indoor pets precisely.First, it is possible to become infected at home. It only takes one bat carrying the virus, whose existence one may not even know about. Bats often nest on balconies, in attics, in abandoned sheds, or in basements. It doesn't necessarily have to live in one’s home; it could be living on a neighbor's balcony or in a shared attic, or it could fly in by chance, attract the pet, bite, and infect it. As the pet’s symptoms might not be recognized as rabies due to similarity with those of a huge number of neurological diseases, a diagnosis may never be made, since no one would suspect rabies in a pet that has never been outside. It will impose a risk on the whole family. Incidentally, this isn't a hypothetical situation, but a true story that really happened. Besides that, domestic cats sometimes escape, fall out of windows, or get lost during a single trip outside, for example, during a visit to the vet (all cats should visit the vet at least once in a while, right?). No one is immune from such an accident. Once it happens unvaccinated pet is out in the street without protection, at great risk.
Bottom line: even indoor pets are at risk of becoming infected and infecting others.
And finally, the rabies vaccine is quite safe. Individual intolerance is extremely rare. We can cite our own statistics: we've vaccinated over 500 cats, about 300 of which received regular booster shots. In total, we've administered over 10,000 doses of vaccine to cats, and there have been no single case of complications after vaccination.
Bottom line: we can say that the chance that a pet will tolerate the vaccination well is at least 500 to 1 (based on our own experience), and the chance that a pet will die if infected is 100 out of 100. In our opinion, the choice is clear. If such a horrible disease can be prevented, it’s duty of each of us to do so. We are in charge for safety of our pets.