If you went for a walk outside today and were unfortunate enough to have a rabid

Question

If you went for a walk outside today and were unfortunate enough to have a rabid animal bite you, what sort of treatment would you receive upon arriving at the hospital? Would this therapy be the same as, or different from, the vaccine that the wildlife biologist gets each year? Explain exactly how this therapy works. Be sure to address the type of immunity conferred to the patient by the treatment in your answer. How long would you be protected against future bites with each of these treatments?

Explanation / Answer

Vaccination is an immunization procedure in which a person develops immunity particularly against a specific pathogen. Vaccines contain live attenuated or killed organisms that are injected to the person in a series. So, our body develops antibodies to those antigens and if that organism enters into our body, they readily attach the pathogen. Vaccination is type of acquired immunity.

Generally vaccination is done on series, this is because to make the body completely resistant against a particular pathogen. After the first dose administration of the antigen, primary response of the body generates antibodies, this takes more time and the amount of antibodies generated decreases with time if the person no longer exposed to the second dose.

Second dose administration triggers a secondary response, which include a rapid and intense generation of anti bodies. This is due to the number of increase in sensitised memory B cells.

Rabies is a viral infection that is spread through saliva of an infected animal bite. If a patient arrives at the hospital with a rabid bite, immediately the bite will be cleaned and a dose of rabies immunoglobulins are given near the site of bite, which helps to prevent the spread of virus. The is followed by the injection of rabies vaccines that stimulate the body's defense to fight against virus.

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