How does an animal get rabies?
A. Rabies is a virus that is transmitted from saliva to an open wound. The most common route of infection is from a bite from a rabid animal. Once bitten, the virus travels from the saliva of the rabid animal along the nerves of the victim to the spinal cord and then up to the brain. Once the virus reaches the brain, abnormal behavior begins. As the rabies virus travels up the nerves and spinal cord, the animal is unable to transfer the virus to another animal or person. A short time after reaching the brain, the virus is in the salivary glands and is shed in the saliva. At this point, the animal or person is considered contagious and usually dies from the disease within 10 days. The length of time it takes to develop the signs of rabies varies, depending on where the initial bite occurred in relation to the brain. Animals bitten on the tips of the rear toes will take longer to develop rabies than bites on the tip of the nose. Q. What is the purpose of quarantine? A. Quarantine is freq
