Peer Reviewed
Travel medicine update

Rabies – offering travellers pre-exposure vaccination

Jonathan Cohen
Abstract
Difficulty in accessing rabies postexposure prophylaxis in developing countries is one of the main reasons to offer travellers pre-exposure vaccination.
Key Points

    Rabies is an acute infectious zoonotic disease in mammals, characterised by central nervous system symptoms and signs, paralysis and death. The cause is a neurotropic virus found in the saliva of rabid animals, most commonly domestic dogs, although monkeys, bats or, indeed, any mammal may be infected. The virus may be transmitted by biting or skin abrasion, and also rarely by aerosol or direct fluid contact across mucous membranes or transplantation of infected organs.

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