Can rabies virus be transmitted in any way other than by an animal bite?
Human cases due to non-bite exposures to rabies virus are rare. Such exposures include the contamination of scratches, abrasions, open wounds, and mucous membranes with saliva or other potentially infectious material (such as brain tissue) from a rabid animal. Occasionally, reports of non-bite exposures are such that treatment is given to the patient as a preventive measure against possible disease and death. This is called post-exposure prophylactic treatment. Inhalation of aerosolized rabies virus is also a potential non-bite route of exposure. However, people other than laboratory workers are unlikely to encounter an aerosol of rabies virus. Other contact, such as petting a rabid animal or contact with the blood, urine, or feces (including guano used as fertilizer) of a rabid animal, is not considered an exposure and does not require prophylactic treatment.
